#horror fans are like this too sometimes. to an extent. and i am a huge horror fan tho not rly into true crime | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

vulturesthedirtiestkind · 1 year

Note

hi hi hello its your srs im so sorry for disappearing the end of semester is always super busy for me 😔 i will get better i promise

ah so you're the Tech Dude (gender neutral) of the film industry! it's such a huge responsibility to manage all that during performances, especially live ones! do you feel like a wizard when lights begin flashing at the wave of your hand? :D you said you like directing and writing, do you get to do that or do you still have to like, climb the ranks of the industry? and what kind of movies do you want to direct?

ooohh that boy is CHUNKY. such a serious guy. very businesslike fellow. he looks like a Grant to me. and you call him baby 😭 adorable omg. i would like you to give him one thousand kisses on his cute little forehead on my behalf

ugh it would be cool if it wasn't so politicized. which is logical, because it's politics after all, but sometimes the amount of sheer propaganda really grates on my nerves. i can now impress relatives with my scattered knowledge during family gatherings tho 😂 and it helped me realise that i don't want anything to do with politics whatsoever in my life so that's something i guess. i would like to translate books for a living, or become an editor, or video games writer, something similar to that.

well i havent been doing art very long so im still on the "redrawing photos" stage to get the hang of anatomy and lighting. i can't send any pictures or links while im on anon, but when the secret santas are revealed i can give you a link to my art blog, if you'd like :)

ah i love a lot of music from all the decades starting from the 60s, but my fave will always be the 80s glam metal i think. it's just so outrageously self-indulgent. but the emo and alternative music of 00s and 10s is a close second because of its concentration on emotions and inner life. also because ive never left my angst emo teen phase im a huge fan of hard rock and metal with female vocals too. my taste is firmly located in rock and metal genres but within those it's all over the place really 😅 and what about you?

p.s. if you ever feel an urge to attach photos of your cat to your replies, do not hesitate to do so <3

you are ABSOLUTELY okay, i've also been swinging wildly between everything. i hope that the end of the semester has been kind to you!!

i am!! and YES I DO,, i have Ultimate Power (well. to an extent...) and when i did the spotlight operating it was very amusing to watch people realize there were people up there, and then that they suddenly couldn't see those people because we got the light board turned on d:^)

because i'm still a student (and still learning how things go), i can do some work with it now (which i'm SUPER happy about)!! admittedly, i don't have a ton of experience yet... but that's what this is all for d:) ideally, once i can do the just-work part, i'll be able to go right into it... but there is a decent amount of having to climb up, depending on how things end up going for you!! which is okay with me, too, as long as the work is pleasant. and unfortunately,,, i'm still not quite positive what movies i'm most interested in working on, though i'd love to do something spies, or horror movies, and i also have some hopes for a few documentaries if i can get them to let me do it!!

YOU'RE SO RIGHT!!!!! he has a little business-like grant face. little working man, working hard at the bread factory (so i can steal all his bread) AND being a bedside doctor-nurse (there was one time where i was very sick and fell asleep in the floor and he jumped over to lead me back to the bed <3) he has been given SO MANY LITTLE FOREHEAD KISSES and he appreciates them all. he gives you many many purrs and also a little cheek lick in return d:)

ohhh god yeah that makes sense (and i’m so sorry you have to deal with all the propaganda stuff,,, it’s Super Very Not Good) BUT!! that’s still SUPER cool (you’re the kind of person to have for trivia nights!!) and it’s good that it’s helped you figure out a little bit about what you’re interested in!! anD ALL OF THAT SOUNDS SO COOL??? i think it could be possible to do a little of all, if you wanted to!! (also--once you can come off anon, don’t let me recruit you to my silly little project, too. ...do you happen to know any german?)

that’s very fair!! any work is still work, though, and i’m very proud of you!! i’d really like that d:’)

and YESSSS it’s about the same here--sometimes, having fun IS best!! you really are just A Legend™ and i’m honored to know you ALREADY,

i will!!! i’ll be attaching as many as possible. here, have the creation of catam d:)

#srs2022

1 note · View note

andypantsx3 · 4 years

Text

if i could keep cool | 1

pairing: Todoroki Shouto / Reader

length: 20,322 words / 6 chapters

summary: A villain attacks Shouto Todoroki’s apartment and kidnaps what he apparently believes to be Todoroki’s secret lover. The bad news—for both you and the villain in question—is that you’re just there to clean the place. That’s how it starts.

tags: romance, reader-insert, accidental sugar daddy shouto, misunderstandings

warnings: aged up characters, eventual smut

You’d been alone inside Shouto Todoroki’s apartment when the villain attacked.

In your defense, you were supposed to be there. Twice a week, for three hours apiece, you turned up to clean the place, dusting, remaking his bed, and scrubbing down the modern kitchen surfaces that you were fairly certain were going unused in the first place.

You weren’t actually supposed to know who owned the high rise, but the personal effects he kept around hardly made any secret of it--a few simply framed photographs of him with his siblings and his friends at school dotted the shelves in the living room, crates of fan mail were often delivered to his door during your shifts, and you’d seen his hero costume dumped in a hamper on more than one occasion.

You’d been excited to find this out at first, as you were just as much a hero fan as the next girl--particularly heroes who were as handsome and infinitely memeable as Todoroki--but you’d tamped down on your enthusiasm in order to keep things professional. It would kind of suck to be a celebrity and find out that some rando fan let themselves into your apartment on the regular and could help themselves to your stuff if they really wanted to.

You had almost considered asking your manager for reassignment when you’d first figured out just whose apartment you were cleaning, in order to keep things purely professional, but Todoroki’s schedule worked well with your own class schedule, and the money didn’t hurt either. The tips either he or his manager left for you were pretty hefty, and it was nice to treat yourself to groceries that weren’t ramen. He was keeping you in fresh vegetables and a Netflix subscription, so in the end you didn’t ask for reassignment--you were a college student, not a saint.

In retrospect, though, maybe you should have. Because one afternoon in late September, the large wall of windows that looked out into the city shattered with violent force, and a huge figure landed in the living room, glass crunching underneath their heavy boots.

You’d just barely managed to catch sight of a wicked looking scar twisting half of the villain’s face before you’d thrown yourself behind the kitchen island you’d been wiping down, landing heavily on your shoulder. That hadn’t saved you, though. You’d been hauled out across the scattered glass, the shards scraping through your clothes to tear at your back and elbows, and looked up into the face of the furious-looking man.

You hadn’t had time to scream, or beg for your life, or whatever other insanely embarrassing thing you might have done, before a fist connected with the base of your skull, and you were falling into darkness, the man’s features and the clean lines of the apartment around you slipping into black.

Now, you awoke in the dark, a musty scent like dust and slow decay pressing into your nose like a heavy rag. Your eyes flickered open, but the world seemed just as dark as behind your eyelids. In the dim, you could just barely make out cement floors studded with dirt and debris, and gaping cutouts in the wall across from you, pitch black with shadow. They were rectangular in shape, and huge--truck ports, maybe? Were you in a warehouse?

You made to move, but something tugged at your wrists, and you realized with a growing sense of horror that your arms were bound behind your back with rough rope, looped through slats in the chair you’d awoken in. Your head whipped up, and the back of your neck screamed in protest, sore from what had likely been hours of you lolling unconscious.

The thin, wavering sound of something like a radio static filtered from somewhere over your shoulder, and you could just make out low tones of a radio broadcaster: “Pro hero Shouto Todoroki’s apartment was broken into early this afternoon...the perpetrator of the crime is still at large…”

That’s right--Todoroki’s apartment. Your heartbeat instantly kicked into high gear. Where were you? Why were you here? Who was that man in Todoroki’s apartment? Had he taken you here? But why?

A boot crunched in the dirt behind you and you stiffened.

“Awake now?” a voice spat, laced with pure malice. The tone sent shivers down your spine.

The pair of boots crunched towards you, rounding the edge of your chair until you could look up into the face of the villain from before, the man with the horrible scar. It twisted and warped the skin over half of his face, the flesh melted into itself like he’d been held down against a hot stove. An equally horrible grin cut into the harsh line of his mouth.

“Who are you? Where am I? Why am I here?” you demanded. Your voice came out high and quavery, and you could have cringed at how absolutely terrified you sounded.

He raised an eyebrow like you’d just asked the dumbest series of questions he’d ever heard.

“Oh, I think you know why you’re here,” he sneered. His eyes were dark, almost black in the gloom of the warehouse.

A twisting wave of frustration washed over you. No you didn’t know why you were here. You’d been wiping down a fucking counter one minute and the next you’d woken up in some creepy warehouse with no idea of where in the world you might be.

“I don’t,” you said, frustrated. “Please, I don’t have any money. Whatever you want, I can’t get it to you.”

He stared down at you impassively, the radio static crackling in the background. “I don’t want money, you fucking brat. I want revenge.”

You stared at him. Revenge? You’d never even met this guy before, what the hell could you have possibly done to him that he would need revenge on you? The extent of your crimes against anyone, as far as you knew, only included arguing with people on twitter and once--drunk at a bar--peeing in the men’s room before you realized it wasn’t the ladies’ toilet. Gender was a social construct, anyway. It wasn’t that bad.

Your blank look seemed to irritate him, and he placed a booted foot on yours, deliberately grinding his heel down on your toes until you felt your bones creak. You bit down on a yelp.

“Don’t play stupid, you little shit. I know he’ll come for you.”

What? Who would come for you?

The radio signal seemed to catch again, and the newscaster’s stately voice reported from over your shoulder. “--Hero Commission received a message from the villain that they are holding Todoroki’s secret lover hostage. We’ve received comment from a PR representative at the Todoroki agency--”

Your stomach dropped in horror as you considered the smug expression that twisted the villain’s face. Oh no.

No.

No way.

Did he think you….?

Dread coiled into a hard pit in your gut. Oh, you were so absolutely fucked. Shouto Todoroki had never so much as heard of you, nevermind invited you into his bed. As far as you could tell, he had no current lover, as his apartment had only ever evidenced the single occupant.

He’d been linked in the media to a couple models and an actress, but it seemed unclear if that was any more than speculation. In the year you’d worked at the cleaning service, there’d never been anything like an extra toothbrush or an abandoned pair of underwear to give away another person’s presence, though you had sometimes seen evidence of his friends; things like a forgotten All Might sweatshirt that clearly belonged to notorious fan boy and current number one hero Deku, or a neatly prepared container of soup you’d seen in the fridge once with a note that read eat this you fucking fuck and if you get me sick I’ll kill you that you strongly suspected came from the foul-mouthed hero Ground Zero.

So unless those were to be taken as signs of a blossoming romance, there was nothing that strongly hinted at the presence of a lover.

You were frankly flabbergasted that this villain had assumed, just because you’d been alone in his apartment at the time, that you of all people could have been that to him.

And you were even more concerned now, as there was absolutely no way Shouto Todoroki was going to come haring in to save someone who did not exist.

What was the villain going to do when he realized that no one was coming for you? Or worse, when he realized you were no one to anyone, and your presence would hardly be missed? Was it better to try and clear up the misunderstanding now? What would he do when the dots connected?

The villain smirked, mistaking your horror. “That’s right, brat. He was supposed to be there, but you'll do just as well. He’ll come for you, and when he does, I’m going to do to him exactly what he did to me.” He gestured to the scarred side of his face and you winced.

So it hadn’t been a hot stove.

“I think you have it wrong,” you said a little desperately. “I’m not--I don’t even know Todoroki. I’m a cleaning lady.”

He rolled his eyes. “Nice try. I’ll just let you walk free then, shall I?”

Your fingers dug into the rope behind your back. “Um, ideally, yes.”

He bit out a harsh laugh, that horrible smile cutting into his features again, and knelt down in front of you. He was close, too close, and you could smell something sour on his breath.

“I’ve just had a better idea,” he said, leaning into you. “What if I do to his precious lover what he did to me? Your face can be the last thing I let him see before I kill him.”

Your stomach turned and you forced yourself as far back in your chair as you could get. Oh fuck. “No, please, you have to listen!” Your voice was growing higher as you spoke. “I don’t know him. I’m his fucking cleaning service. You can call them and ask--just ask!”

The villain didn’t listen, digging around in the inner pocket of his jacket for something. “No skin off my nose if you are or aren’t. But I think we both know you aren’t.”

You could feel your heart climb into your throat as he pulled out a lighter and a small, metal can that smelled sharply of gasoline. Lighter fluid? You started struggling wildly in your bonds, feet straining against the floor to push your chair back from him.

He let out another laugh, uncapping the fluid. The acrid smell sharpened, burning in your nose. The radio let out another burst of static in the background, a high whine that set your teeth even more on edge.

“I’ll let you pick the side, brat,” the villain said, smiling.

“I pick neither,” you managed around the lump in your throat. Your eyes were locked on the can of lighter fluid, like you could will it away from you with the sheer force of your panic alone.

The villain scowled. “Be difficult then,” he said, and moved to pour it over you anyway. You felt the first splash of fluid on your cheek and closed your eyes. That acrid smell got stronger, and the villain let out an excited breath.

Then the wall blew out.

A wall of freezing air rushed over you and the can of fluid dropped from the villain’s grasp, spilling sloppily down your clothes, before clattering to the floor. The villain swore and whirled, grabbing a fistful of your hair and wrenching your head back. You peeked open an eye.

A huge slab of ice had blown open the side of the building, and the silhouette of a man was outlined against the evening sky. It was hard to make out his features in the dim light, but that mop of red and white hair was so distinctive, you would know it anywhere.

A shivery frisson of relief went down your spine at the sight of a familiar figure, but confusion mounted in the back of your brain.

What the hell was Shouto Todoroki doing here?

There was a flinty noise and then a small flame flickered in the corner of your eye. You stiffened--the lighter was still in the villain’s hand, and you were entirely covered in lighter fluid.

“So nice to see you again, Todoroki. Any last words to your little girlfriend?” the villain spat. His gaze was fixed unblinkingly on Todoroki.

You strained against your bonds and his tight grip on your hair. “I’m not his girlfriend! Todoroki, tell him.”

You could barely see his features but you thought you caught Todoroki’s eyes darting over you curiously, like he was trying to figure out who in the world you were and why anyone would mistake you for a love interest of his. Your eyes met briefly. Then the fingers on his right hand pressed forward just the slightest bit, and a huge cascade of ice like an avalanche was rushing you. You closed your eyes, ready to be impaled.

There was a grunt and the villain’s hand was ripped out of your hair, taking a fistful with it. A sudden, suffocating silence pressed down on you, and an icy burn stung at your lungs when you inhaled.

You blinked your eyes open, only to come face to face with a wall of ice mere inches from your nose. Cold pressed in on you everywhere, biting at you through your clothes--it seemed Todoroki had formed some kind of protective shell over you as he forced the villain off of you. You exhaled and sank back in the chair with shaky relief.

More crackling echoed from outside your cocoon, muffled through the thick slabs of ice, and a bright jet of orange light lit up the crystals around you. You tracked the sound and the movements nervously. There was a moment when a body slammed into the ice behind you, cracking it a little, and you tensed, but then whichever of them it was rolled off and was gone within moments.

Over the course of a few minutes, the sounds of their battle and the flickers of light started to fade off into the distance, and you wondered if Todoroki was trying to lead the villain away, or if the villain was leading him somewhere he had planned for. Your fingers found the bindings at your wrists again, and you scrabbled desperately at them with your nails.

If the villain came back for you, you needed to be disconnected from this chair and out of the ice prison ASAP.

You had just managed to work your chair backwards and get a good angle against the rough ice, starting to work up a friction between your bonds and the ice when muted footsteps approached and a hole began to melt in the side of the ice wall. Your eyes snapped to attention and you leaned as far away as you could get.

It was Todoroki who stepped through, however, lifting an arm to melt away more of the ice over you. He looked a little mussed from combat but otherwise unharmed, and in good shape to get you out of here. You breathed a heavy sigh of relief, muttering, “Oh, thank god.”

He fixed you with a weird look, leaning over you when he’d melted enough of the ice to get to your bonds. A hot hand at your wrists burned ropes off of you easily enough, Todoroki careful not to singe you with his flames.

An uncomfortable silence settled between the two of you as you pulled your arms back to yourself, shaking them out.

“Uh, thank you,” you said, watching nervously as those distinctive two-toned eyes flicked over you.

He helped pull you to your feet, and gestured you towards the hole he had blown in the side of the warehouse.

“This way--there’s an ambulance to check you over,” he said evenly. His voice was low and smooth, even deeper in person than you’d heard it on TV. His whole presence seemed a lot sharper, larger even, than was communicated via the media.

You followed his broad back out into the evening air, noting that you were on a somewhat crowded street, likely somewhere still within city limits. Several rows of similar warehouses lined the streets, and an ambulance and several police vehicles had pulled up onto the sidewalk closest to you.

An EMT ran over to you, helping you over to the ambulance and immediately setting to the task of checking you over. She asked you a series of questions including your name, what year it was, the prime minister’s name, and a slew of probing queries about your injuries. She concluded a concussion seemed unlikely, but produced an ice packet for your head where the villain had struck you, and cleaned your wrists where the rope had cut into them, smoothing on aloe and wrapping them up in gauzy bandages.

While she worked, you watched Todoroki as he spoke in quiet tones off to the side with a group of policemen. Eventually, however, the conversation seemed to die out, and he came padding back over to stand in front of you with his arms crossed over his chest. You tried not to focus on the swell of his biceps through the fabric of his hero costume.

“What you did was very stupid,” he said, his eyes narrowing.

That tore your attention away from his arms, and you paused, staring up at him in confusion. Did all civilians get a lecture like this fresh off of being kidnapped?

“Excuse me?” was all that escaped you.

That grey and blue gaze raked over you. “You’re lucky I was able to rescue you. You risked your own life and invaded my privacy while you were at it.”

A mixture of confusion, exhaustion, and anger welled up inside of you. You had just been fucking kidnapped and he was lecturing you like a toddler who’d gotten into a box of crayons while her parents’ backs were turned.

“You think I fucking wanted to be kidnapped?” you demanded, sliding off of the back of the ambulance to take an angry step towards him. “You think I wanted any of this to happen?”

He held his ground, hardly threatened by someone who barely brushed his chin and had needed his rescuing only minutes before. You gritted your teeth.

“You are not welcome in my apartment,” he said firmly, something like suppressed anger flickering in his own gaze.

Your temper flared even hotter than his flames. You clenched your fist, the words bubbling up before you could even think to stop them. “Great. Clean it yourself then, you huge fucking asshole, if you don’t want someone else there.”

His eyes widened the slightest bit, but you weren’t done.

“I get kidnapped because some crazy douche wanted to settle a score with you, and you dare yell at me for doing my job? Because what, it’s shameful for you to be accused of having a secret lover and now you have to do PR? Grow the fuck up. That’s your fucking job.”

You turned on your heel, setting a beeline for the police officers where they had turned to watch you, mouths gaping.

“Do I have to give a statement right now or can I come into the station in the morning?” you demanded of the nearest officer.

“We recommend you give your statement as soon as possible, but you can delay until tomorrow if you’re, uh, in emotional distress,” the officer said, staring at you.

“Oh I am,” you intoned loudly. “But not as much emotional distress, apparently, as someone who's been mildly inconvenienced by a media narrative. You'd better check on him, he's the real fucking victim here. And I’ll see you in the morning instead.”

You stalked off towards the street, hardly caring where you were headed or how you would get home from here. You would figure it out and find your way, and it was better than standing around and being berated by some asshole hero who thought himself so wildly inconvenienced by saving you.

“And Todoroki, you can go fuck yourself,” you threw over your shoulder as you disappeared into the dusky maze of city streets.

And he could.

You hoped that was the last you’d ever see or hear of Shouto Todoroki.

744 notes · View notes

angelicymp · 3 years

Text

Perhaps a little coaxing is needed...

Good evening my literary friends,

I am hoping to find a suitable partner for specific cravings and ideas I have in mind.

My introduction will be brief and a bit more to the point than usual. I am quite thorough and detail-oriented when it comes to being a writer, including some of my rules and preferences. However, since I believe it to be quite a hassle to go through every point I’m making, my ad will be a bit more compact.

A brief recap: You can call me Imp; I am in my twenties and a student, striving to become a part-time freelancer as well. My main hobbies are photography, traveling, drawing and of course, the art of writing. Currently, I reside in Europe, so my timezone could differ from yours, unless you are also from a similar region.

Be sure to read through my ad to see if we’re compatible. Too many times I’ve encountered cases where the inquirers skimmed through all of the info and upon messaging me, were surprised to learn that we weren’t a match from the beginning. So if you haven’t properly read my ad, I’ll know. I’d like to urge everyone to stick with it so there won't be any misunderstandings and not waste everyone’s time.

————————

 Me, myself and I

(art by: Ayami Kojima)

♦ Nickname: Imp

♦ Experience: 12 years and counting

♦ Style: 1:1 with the inclusion of doubling

♦ Rating: Mature

♦ Roleplaying Platform: Email and Google Docs

♦ Chatting Platform: Email, Google Hangouts or Discord

♦ Pet peeves: Slice of Life

 After finishing the game of Resident Evil 8 Village, I was struck by yet another muse.

I am currently looking for either a pre-existing canon inspired roleplay, or, something completely original. Be sure you are above the age of eighteen, preferably 21 and upwards. I will not accept any inquires from minors - this is not negotiable.

What to expect

♢ Content: Mature. I am more interested in darker things like horror, occultism, the supernatural, you can maybe guess where I am going with this. My limits are few, safe for a couple of minor pet peeves that I have, I am pretty much open to some experimentation; such as violence, gore and sexual themes. When it comes to heavy scenes, I will not fade to black, unless it serves no purpose to the story. Not a huge fan of censorship. However, I will not force or push my partner into something they are not comfortable with. If you want to know the extent to how far I am willing to go, what sort of content, or how graphic my writing will be, you can ask me directly.  

♢ Rating: I have little to no issues with delving into more sensitive topics. Since reality is often stranger than fiction, it is very interesting to explore all sides of human nature, including the less comfortable subjects such as psychology, crime, etc. But I also like to remind that this is a world of fiction and no one in their right mind would condone such things in real life. The world of adults is not easy to handle, but it sure is interesting to explore. So if you are a gentle soul and can’t take the heat of more serious moments within the roleplay, be it a character going through trying times, etc; this might not be ideal for you.

♢ Writing: My texts are considerably lengthy, detailed, and elaborate. Third-person is usually my preferred way of playing my character unless there’s a special case where an exception can be made. Word count usually fluctuates, though I have a standard form of 400-500+ words per reply. It also highly depends on the given situation.

♢ Romancing: I admit to being a hopeless romantic. There’s nothing more enjoyable than witnessing good and powerful chemistry between two characters. Preferably I go for the usual MxF pairing dynamic but I am also open to FxF and MxM, should it feel more fitting. While doubling, I can write the character/love interest to my partner’s desire, but I always aim to stay true to their personality and character. I hate nothing more than forcing characters into a relationship, especially if there’s no spark, so I won’t respond well to being pressured into letting characters act out of their personality. It’s just not realistic. As for smut, or what have you, I have no issues with adding a few spicy scenes, sometimes even drawing them out of our pleasure. When there is, however, a running theme where sexual themes are taking the focal point of the plot, it can become quite boring. It is never the center of any of my roleplays, so be warned.

♢ Plotting: I am fairly quick when it comes to building new characters, concepts, premises, storylines, backstories, etc. It allows me a certain latitude. Feel free to communicate your ideas and thoughts with me. I am happy to chat, even when it doesn’t involve the roleplay directly. Though this is a hobby, I am still extremely passionate about good storytelling and interesting character arcs. I hope to meet someone who is just as enthusiastic and willing to put in the same amount of effort. If it’s only me who’s pulling all the weight, I will lose interest and feel forced to end the correspondence.

No gos

♦ Won’t do: Pedophilia, Necrophilia, Bestiality, Scat, Vore, Toilet Play, etc. I am sure you can also think of many other strange fetishes that have developed over the years spent on the internet.

♦ Won’t write: The idea of supernatural beings trying to fit into human society. The typical bully x victim storyline. The run-of-the-mill vampires vs werewolf plot. BDSM centred stories. Slice of life. Flawless or excessively flawed characters.

What I expect

♢ Literacy: You should at least have a decent grasp of basic grammar and coherency in your spelling.

♢ Flexibility: Since we all have lives outside of the roleplay, we both need to be flexible. Sometimes our schedules may differ, and if life is currently intervening, we can take things a bit easier. Plus, I can’t always respond every second of every day, either. This should be considered a hobby and not a job. If a hiatus is on the rise, there is no problem with putting things on ice until things clear up.

♢ Experience: And by that, I don’t mean how many years you’ve roleplayed, rather the experience that comes with age and emotional maturity. Especially if you want to write stories with grit.

♢ Open to doubling: Quick explanation. Doubling is when we play two main characters each. The dynamic is as follows; I write your chosen love interest against your main character while you do the same for me.

♢ Long term: Only long-term partnerships.

♢ Sharing the spotlight: Don’t forget, this is all about you too! Let me know all your specific cravings, interests, or wants that you want to be included into the roleplay.

Cravings

♦ Urban fantasy: Supernaturals, demons, spirits, vampires, you name it. I’d be more interested in something original and unique, especially when it comes to vampirism and demonic entities.

♦ Dark Sci-Fi: So this is a bit inspired by Resident Evil. A world where monsters become a vicious reality, generating fear among the people they come in contact with. But as it turns out, these monsters are not supernatural, but rather infected or mutated by a virus that cannot be explained.

♦ History, mythology, and folklore: An interesting take on the historical timeline, where legends and myths were once a reality. However, their existence was greatly misrepresented in the storybooks, sometimes even completely distorted. Our characters could be accidental time travelers who have been sent from the future to see it with their own eyes. Inspirations are mostly Slavic, European, and ancient folklore from all over the world.

♦ Crime with a dark twist: Mafias, organized crime, and corrupted politicians run this town. All of them have one thing in common. A particular drug that grants humans superhuman abilities; but at a cost. The drug will turn force the users to reject their humanity to instead embrace their monstrosity.

Canon & Fandoms

♢ Castlevania: Rather the original games than the Netflix series. But I am also not opposed to tackling the Netflix universe.

♢ Devil May Cry: Every game is game. Except for the reboot. Never played that one.

♢ Invincible: Not so invincible.

♢ Resident Evil: Village is one of the best games I’ve ever played. Periodt.

♢ Harry Potter: Next gen anyone?

————————

If you made it this far, I am glad you managed to hold on, lol. If you found what I wrote, agreeable and have a similar interests to mine, feel free to message me on this email adress.

You can also contact me via DM on my Tumblr blog, though preferably, I would rather be more receptive on Email since I am more active there. And it’s a lot more personal as well.

Email: [email protected]

Hope to see you there.

I wish you all a lovely day my fellow readers!

-Imp

12 notes · View notes

fyrapartnersearch · 3 years

Text

♔ Let's try this again ♔

Good evening my literary friends,

I am hoping to find a suitable partner for specific cravings and ideas I have in mind. My introduction will be brief and a bit more to the point than usual. I am quite thorough and detail-oriented when it comes to being a writer, including some of my rules and preferences. However, since I believe it would be quite a hassle to go through every point, my ad will be a bit more compact. A brief recap: You can call me Imp; I am in my twenties and a student, striving to become a part-time freelancer as well. My main hobbies are photography, traveling, drawing and of course, the art of writing. Currently, I reside in Europe, so my timezone could differ from yours, unless you are also from a similar region. Be sure to read through my ad to see if we’re compatible. Too many times I’ve encountered cases where the inquirers skimmed through all of the info and upon messaging me, were surprised to learn that we weren’t a match from the beginning. So if you haven’t properly read my ad, I’ll know. I’d like to urge everyone to stick with it so there won't be any misunderstandings and not waste everyone’s time. ————————

 Me, myself and I ♦ Nickname: Imp ♦ Experience: 12 years and counting

♦ Age: 28 years.

♦ Gender: Female. ♦ Style: 1:1 with the inclusion of doubling ♦ Rating: Mature ♦ Roleplay Platform: Email and Google Docs ♦ Chat Platform: Email, Google Hangouts or Discord ♦ Pet peeves: Slice of Life

♦ Timezone: GMT+2

 After finishing the game of Resident Evil 8 Village, I was struck by yet another muse.

What to expect ♢ Content: Mature. I am more interested in darker things like horror, occultism, the supernatural, you can maybe guess where I am going with this. My limits are few, safe for a couple of minor pet peeves that I have, I am pretty much open to some experimentation; such as violence, gore and sexual themes. When it comes to heavy scenes, I will not fade to black, unless it serves no purpose to the story. Not a huge fan of censorship. However, I will not force or push my partner into something they are not comfortable with. If you want to know the extent to how far I am willing to go, what sort of content, or how graphic my writing will be, you can ask me directly.   �� Rating: I have little to no issues with delving into more sensitive topics. Since reality is often stranger than fiction, it is very interesting to explore all sides of human nature, including the less comfortable subjects such as psychology, crime, etc. But I also like to remind that this is a world of fiction and no one in their right mind would condone such things in real life. The world of adults is not easy to handle, but it sure is interesting to explore. So if you are a gentle soul and can’t take the heat of more serious moments within the roleplay, be it a character going through trying times, etc; this might not be ideal for you. ♢ Writing: My texts are considerably lengthy, detailed, and elaborate. Third-person is usually my preferred way of playing my character unless there’s a special case where an exception can be made. Word count usually fluctuates, though I have a standard form of 400-500+ words per reply. It also highly depends on the given situation. ♢ Romancing: I admit to being a hopeless romantic. There’s nothing more enjoyable than witnessing good and powerful chemistry between two characters. Preferably I go for the usual MxF pairing dynamic but I am also open to FxF and MxM, should it feel more fitting. While doubling, I can write the character/love interest to my partner’s desire, but I always aim to stay true to their personality and character. I hate nothing more than forcing characters into a relationship, especially if there’s no spark, so I won’t respond well to being pressured into letting characters act out of their personality. It’s just not realistic. As for smut, or what have you, I have no issues with adding a few spicy scenes, sometimes even drawing them out of our pleasure. When there is, however, a running theme where sexual themes are taking the focal point of the plot, it can become quite boring. It is never the center of any of my roleplays, so be warned. ♢ Plotting: I am fairly quick when it comes to building new characters, concepts, premises, storylines, backstories, etc. It allows me a certain latitude. Feel free to communicate your ideas and thoughts with me. I am happy to chat, even when it doesn’t involve the roleplay directly. Though this is a hobby, I am still extremely passionate about good storytelling and interesting character arcs. I hope to meet someone who is just as enthusiastic and willing to put in the same amount of effort. If it’s only me who’s pulling all the weight, I will lose interest and feel forced to end the correspondence. No gos ♦ Won’t do: Pedophilia, Necrophilia, Bestiality, Scat, Vore, Toilet Play or roleplaying with minors. I am sure you can also think of many other strange fetishes that have developed over the years spent on the internet. ♦ Won’t write: The idea of supernatural beings trying to fit into human society. The typical bully x victim storyline. The run-of-the-mill vampires vs werewolf plot. BDSM centred stories. Slice of life. Flawless or excessively flawed characters.

♦ No vulgarity: Let's keep it classy. There's nothing more I dislike than slipping into senseless vulgarity, be it language, unnecessary drawn out violent or tasteless smut scenes. I'd rather have things done beautifully, even if it a subject on the darker side.

What I expect ♢ Literacy: You should at least have a decent grasp of basic grammar and coherency in your spelling. ♢ Flexibility: Since we all have lives outside of the roleplay, we both need to be flexible. Sometimes our schedules may differ, and if life is currently intervening, we can take things a bit easier. Plus, I can’t always respond every second of every day, either. This should be considered a hobby and not a job. If a hiatus is on the rise, there is no problem with putting things on ice until things clear up. ♢ Experience: And by that, I don’t mean how many years you’ve roleplayed, rather the experience that comes with age and emotional maturity. Especially if you want to write stories with grit. ♢ Open to doubling: Quick explanation. Doubling is when we play two main characters each. The dynamic is as follows; I write your chosen love interest against your main character while you do the same for me. ♢ Long term: Only long-term partnerships. ♢ Sharing the spotlight: Don’t forget, this is all about you too! Let me know all your specific cravings, interests, or wants that you want to be included into the roleplay. Cravings ♦ Urban fantasy: Supernaturals, demons, spirits, vampires, you name it. I’d be more interested in something original and unique, especially when it comes to vampirism and demonic entities. ♦ Dark Sci-Fi: So this is a bit inspired by Resident Evil. A world where monsters become a vicious reality, generating fear among the people they come in contact with. But as it turns out, these monsters are not supernatural, but rather infected or mutated by a virus that cannot be explained. ♦ History, mythology, and folklore: An interesting take on the historical timeline, where legends and myths were once a reality. However, their existence was greatly misrepresented in the storybooks, sometimes even completely distorted. Our characters could be accidental time travelers who have been sent from the future to see it with their own eyes. Inspirations are mostly Slavic, European, and ancient folklore from all over the world. ♦ Crime with a dark twist: Mafias, organized crime, and corrupted politicians run this town. All of them have one thing in common. A particular drug that grants humans superhuman abilities; but at a cost. The drug will turn force the users to reject their humanity and embrace their monstrosity. Canon & Fandoms ♢ Castlevania: Rather the original games than the Netflix series. But I am also not opposed to tackling the Netflix universe. ♢ Devil May Cry: Every game is game. Except for the reboot. Never played that one. ♢ Invincible: Not so invincible. ♢ Resident Evil: Village is one of the best games I’ve ever played. Periodt. ♢ Harry Potter: Next gen anyone? ———————— If you made it this far, I am glad you managed to hold on, lol. If you found what I wrote, agreeable and have a similar interests to mine, feel free to message me on this email address. Email: [email protected] Hope to see you there. I wish you all a lovely day my fellow readers! -Imp

#Indie rp #oc rp #multiple paragraph #para #long term #literate #action #adventure #au #drama angst #fandom #fantasy #historical #horror #modern #original #romance #scifi #supernatural #submission

5 notes · View notes

bereaving · 3 years

Note

You definitely don't need to apologize for that 😆 I do that too...

For me it's different cause I love the horror genre. Like not this random, boring clichee sort of horror but this really subtle and deep horror like in Hill House. I'm a huge fan of it. For me it wasn't really important what's it about, I just wanted to continue this anthology.

A lot of people say that honestly 🤔 it's different when you watch Bly first and then Hill House. But they both have a lot of similarities and I love that.

She is! And it's for sure that most of the time where people were going through a traumatic childhood, they turned out to be assholes. Like we have an example right next to Jamie on the same show - Peter. He went through that as a kid and he turned out to be abusive and toxic, mostly. So it's great to see that there's a different way to go with that or to deal with everything Jamie had to deal with as a kid and how she turned out to be as an adult.

So yeah that's really nice to see that people aren't the way you first think they are by how they act, you just need to get to know them and we did after her fantastic speech. I can't tell you how often I watched that because its one of my favorite scenes in the whole season. She definitely is one of the most important characters on the show. It's also a beautiful reference to how a flower needs it time to bloom and so do people, like you said.

I mean she's definitely holding herself back a bit, and she tries to wrap her flirting and overall conversations with Dani up with humor. I think that's a great way of showing someone you really care about them without being too forward. So yeah I agree with you on that she would make a move if she'd be completely sure that's it okay for Dani too. But she would definitely do it in a Jamie - like - way 😂 like acting all cool and being funny yk

Dani is bold af 😆 like she has shown us that so many times and it is refreshing to see. Cause if I'm being honest I didn't think of her that way when I first saw her. I thought she's cute and all but when I first got to know her backstory a bit I immediately changed my mind. Also the scene she had with Henry at the bar was bold af, I'd have never done that for sure 😅

And then everything that happens around her at Bly and with Jamie, no doubt at all.

Haha I had to laugh when Jamie said "who the hell knew" 😂 that was awesome and also gave Dani a feeling of relief. That was the first time she expressed her feelings, her real feelings, to someone she likes so much and no one blamed her for that.

I guess you can see it both ways. I hated how they decided to end it, like they just gave us all and then in the end they took it all away 😪 just seeing how Dani sacrificed herself and then no one even remembered her and she just has no choice but going to Bly again and die there, it was so hard to watch and to accept. And there's Jamie, alone, with just the memories of Dani and she keeps waiting for her to return till the end... that's just heartbreaking and I need to hold back myself from crying every time I even think about it.

It is a masterpiece, no doubt, but I just wish they would let them finally be happy for the rest of their days.

Yeah that's the thing when you watch Bly first I guess 😅 I knew Victoria will be in season 2, too. So I wasn't as surprised about it, but the fact that she played Nell just makes it change a bit. She nails playing those characters with real struggles and she brings them to life in a way I've never seen anybody do it 💯 her microexpressions are so spot on, like I don't even know what to say about it. These two characters are stucked in my head too. Dani a bit more than Nell but that's just because it's so long ago when I watched Hill House.

I mean definitely! I hope Amelia stays on the horror path that would be great for me 😂 also same here, I won't watch YOU I don't know why but it's probably the show in general seems to be not really my thing 😕 unfortunately I have to say...cause i don't get to see Victoria

I really hope they bring them both back to The Haunting Series, I'd love to see Amelia back there and Victoria too 👌 but I guess we have to wait a long time for that

We goin’ under the cut again because this one is also long, my friend haha

A horror two-timer such as myself really doesn’t have any other opinion other than the ones I’ve seen: Bly is and feels more gothic, whereas Hill House is more... I guess classically horror. They are both fantastic, and tbh I had no idea this is what horror does. I’d never looked into horror as a way of expanding the story, and Mike and his team had done that beautifully with The Haunting. Hours after I’d published the ask it occurred to me that the answer was so engrossed with Dani and Jamie that I’d completely forgotten to write about Peter lol whoops. He and Jamie are really two opposites of the spectrum. And in episode 7, I get that the whole deal for that is to get a better insight into his background, and what shapes him and what made him the way that he is. I enjoyed it as a casual watcher, and I liked OJC’s portrayal of him, but to be completely honest, I left that episode with very little added empathy for him. I’ve seen people like him enough both in real life and in fictional portrayals. I know what it’s like to be in the presence of people like him, and it is not in any way pleasant. So yeah, Peter, as this post so eloquently put it, can choke.

Jamie on the other hand... 🥰 Have I mentioned I love her? Lemme just say it again, just because.

Re: “I’m so glad you stayed” scene: That whole tracking shot... ugh, it just gives me goosebumps. I have seen it more than once and every time I need the scene for GIFs or anything, I’d always watch from the moment Owen’s car drives away. These two smol wives own my heart and my soul, and I love them a lot a lot.

Re: the ending Completely understand where you’re coming from, and it’s not something that I can casually think about or even try to sit with without some sort of mental preparation -- like taking a deep breath before you go for a deep dive. It still hurts, I still get sad and cry about the way their story had to end. But, that being said, to me it doesn’t feel like a disservice to their journey. It wasn’t done just for the sake of dramatization, or to show any kind of... hidden morality message, or anything like that. There’s no agenda to the story, is maybe a more succinct way of putting it. Just like any other couples we would see on screen, it treats them with respect. I think we all wish, deep down inside, that they would be able to shake off The Lady and live their best lives, but... I don’t know. Personally, I don’t think it would’ve stayed or created this big of an impact if they were to just ride off into the sunset together.

Another thing to add is how good Bly is at exaggerating and amplifying aspects of real life and making it to be an element of the story. Some people forget you, some people will always wait for you and want to be with you. Some things, you do without thinking and it becomes a habit. Sometimes you lose yourself. Sometimes you’re stuck in circumstances or places you don’t really want to be in, but have to due to obligations and responsibilities. Some places really do have a pull of their own. Sometimes people love wrong, and it consumes you. Sometimes people love right, and it saves you. Maybe that’s just me and my takeaway from it, though. Last time I said Bly has changed the course of my 2020, and by that I mean that it’s taught me to have feelings again, to re-examine things, to care. And I just... love this series. Sadness and all.

MOVING ON 😆 I bow to Victoria. Ari ( @camhowes ) was the one who encouraged me to watch Bly in the first place, and so naturally once I started Hill House I messaged her and said, “I can’t believe Dani and Nell are played by THE SAME ACTRESS???????????” My freak out over her is not over yet, and I am begging anyone to let her be in all the things. I’ll fucking watch it (again... other than You) The way Nell breaks my heart... One of my friends who’s been a long Hill House champ has repeatedly said to me that Theo is the most fascinating sibling, and while I agree to a certain extent... Nell has my heart.

When it comes to Netflix’s You... to be completely blunt, a story that is pitched as “stalker man show, he kills people” is just not gonna appeal to me in general. No offense to anyone but there are just too many men I do not give a squat about. I don’t know if my resolve with this show will change. There’s been a couple sets of Love Quinn that I’ve seen (when she goes to the market in a beanie, or when she’s cooking and baking and drinking wine, or when she apparently went full on revenge baking mode) that are intriguing and is chipping away at my resolve, but... yeah, for the moment, I’m staying away from that series.

And I’m just gonna put a thought out into the universe, that if Miss Amelia Eve is hiring anyone to help her with her dog-walking business, I am available and can start ASAP.

#ask #anonymous #it's another long one folks #thobm asks

5 notes · View notes

girls-scenarios · 4 years

Text

The Truth

Idol: Olivia Hye (Loona)

Prompt: Woooooooo I’m so happy requests are open again! Could I request a Loona Olivia Hye scenario where she’s crushing on idol!reader. Olivia and the other band mates get to go on a radio show where the reader is a guest host and throughout it the other girls keep trying to embarrass her. Thank you so much for all the amazing content!!

Writer: Admin Kiwi

A/N: This prompt seriously got buried in the inbox somehow, so I totally forgot about it until a few days ago. It took a while, but I hope you still enjoy!

♡ Tip Jar♡

Radio appearances always made Olivia a little nervous. She’d gotten used to appearing on TV after a while, but that was because they were scripted and edited, so if she messed up, the show could edit that out. They could also cut out any parts where she might look weird or say something weird or act awkward. But the radio was always live, and although she sometimes got a script, a lot of times it was unscripted in an interview style, and that made her nervous. There was too much room for mistakes or secrets to slip out, and too much room for surprises.

Surprises like one of the hosts being out sick, only to be replaced by the person Olivia had been crushing on for the last few months.

She was technically at the front of the line as they filed into the recording room, but as soon as Olivia saw you sitting at one of the microphones, shuffling your script in your hands, she turned on her heel and walked the other way.

“Olivia,” Haseul hissed, her eyes wide. “What are you doing?”

She was too shell-shocked to answer, but Hyunjin cackled, answering for her. “She’s running away. Look at who the co-host is!” At her words, the entire group rushed forward to look, and Olivia flushed a deep red, quickly stepping away.

“I’ll be right back,” she mumbled before dashing off towards the restroom, ignoring Haseul’s call for her to come back. Once inside, she closed the door and leaned against it, her eyes wide and her heart beating fast. What the heck? Wasn’t the host supposed to be some old dude? Why was it you, out of all people? And why hadn’t she been told?

Trying to calm herself down, she walked over to the mirror to inspect her reflection. As much as she wanted to splash water on her face, she knew her stylist would kill her for ruining the makeup, so she washed her hands instead, then made sure her hair and makeup was perfect.

“I can do this,” she told her reflection in the mirror, fixing one last stray strand. Then she took a deep breath, smoothed her shirt, and walked out the door, headed back towards the recording room.

Thankfully, she hadn’t been gone long enough to cause any problems: they were still setting up to record. On the other hand, though, as she sat down, some of the other members began to snicker, obviously amused. Haseul and Yves, both looking slightly stressed, gave her wide-eyed looks, to which she shrugged her shoulders, trying to play it cool.

“My hair was falling out of the tie,” she lied, and Yeojin giggled.

“Sure. Whatever you say, Olivia.”

“Shut up,” she hissed, turning to give the girl a glare, only to immediately smooth over her features as you turned around in your chair to face them.

“Okay, is everyone ready? We’re about to go live!” Your voice was cheerful, contrasting with the horror music playing in Olivia’s head. She was so not ready.

“Ready!” The rest of the girls said, and she gave a little nod, knowing that she had no choice.

“Then let’s go!” The other host, Kyuhyun, cleared his throat and gave a thumbs up, signalling that the mics be turned on. Then, with a smile, he leaned forward and looked down at his notes. “Hello listeners, it’s your loyal host Kyuhyun here once again to bring you another fun and interesting interview! But today, I have more than one guest in the studio. Mystery host, would you like to introduce yourself?” He turned to you and you laughed, leaning in just like he did.

“Hello listeners, I’m (Y/N) and I’m going to be filling in for Woohyuk today. I’m flattered to be here on such a beautiful day! And speaking of beautiful, let’s introduce our guests. In the studio today we have the lovely Loona!” You gestured at them and, on cue, they cheered.

“Hello, we are Loona!” Haseul put on her best smile for the one tiny camera recording. “We’re so happy to be here today, and we’ll be sure to work hard to be fun and interesting just like Kyuhyun said!”

“If there’s anything Loona is, it’s fun! But first, let’s get into some news.” The show had begun.

After some news that Olivia could care less about and about a billion nonsense questions, she found herself staring down at the table. She’d been a lot more shy than usual today, mostly due to the fact that you were only sitting a few chairs away from her. It made her heart pound: she didn’t want to mess up. So she just didn’t speak, only responding when the other girls sent the question to her and giving short, boring responses to encourage them not to make her talk.

For a little while, her strategy worked. Then, as the questions started to end and the usual chat started, Kyuhyun asked if they had any funny stories and a grin slid onto Hyunjin’s face.

“You know, we have a funny story from today.” No. She wouldn’t. “It happened with our very own Olivia Hye!” She would. Olivia’s faced flushed a deep red as she stared at Hyunjin in disbelief. Some of the other girls had already started to giggle.

“Really?” You looked at her with a smile, only making her blush more. “We haven’t heard much from Olivia today.”

“That has to do with the funny story,” Heejin said, smiling along with Hyunjin. “Should we tell it?”

“Please do,” Kyuhyun said, even as Olivia whined and shook her head. Ignoring her, Yves spoke up. Was this her unit leader’s revenge for making her stress earlier?

“When we were coming into the recording room, Olivia was actually right behind Chuu, so she was second in line. But all of a sudden, she stopped and turned around to walk the other way. It almost gave Haseul a heart attack. She took off to the bathroom and we were all surprised until we realized that it was because she wanted to make sure she looked good for a certain someone.” Yves wiggled her eyebrows, and Olivia resisted the urge to slam her head into the table. Was it possible to die of embarrassment?

“But there’s only two of us in here,” Kyuhyun said, raising his eyebrows with a grin. God, he was egging them on.

“Exactly! Turns out,” Hyunjin said with a grin, “that Olivia is a huge fan of (Y/N). As soon as she saw them in here, she freaked out and ran off.”

“Whoa, really?” Genuinely surprised, you turned to face her, and her mouth grew dry.

“Really!” It was Yeojin this time. “Trust me, she talks about you all the time.”

“Okay,” Olivia said, her voice wavering as she finally stood up for herself. “They’re making it out to be a lot more dramatic. I didn’t freak out or run anywhere. I walked to the bathroom. And I don’t talk about anyone all the time.”

“She’s lying about that last part,” Yeojin said bluntly, and had they not been live, Olivia would have thrown something at her. You seemed to find this amusing, though, as you laughed and turned your chair towards Olivia.

“Are you my fan?”

“I-I mean, yeah?” She felt a bit faint. “But they’re definitely exaggerating.”

“Thanks for being my fan anyway, then. I didn’t know that I had such a beautiful fan.”

Somehow, Olivia’s face got even redder. Her throat let out a squeak without her permission, and she wished she could melt into the floor as everyone laughed. When would this be over?

After what seemed like an eternity of teasing interrupted by serious radio, Kyuhyun finally ended the show. Relieved, Olivia took off the headphones, internally planning her revenge against the entire dorm. She had never been so embarrassed in her life.

As everyone stood up and got ready to finish up and leave, you appeared at her side, flashing her a smile that made her heartbeat speed up.

“O-oh, hello.”

“Sorry if I startled you, I wanted to chat with you before you left.” You didn’t look like you were going to tease her any more. In fact, you almost looked a little flustered yourself. “Sorry that your members teased you so much because of me.”

“They just like to tease,” she said truthfully, tugging at her sleeves as she sent you a nervous smile.

“But were they telling the truth?”

She blinked, confused. “Huh?”

“Were your friends telling the truth about you being my fan?”

“Oh.” It wasn’t like she could lie her way out of this one. She blushed again as she nodded. “Yeah, I am a fan.” She wasn’t going to reveal the full extent of her feelings, though.

“I’m flattered.” You laughed softly. “I’m a fan of you too!”

“Really?” Her eyes widened and you nodded, laughing again.

“Really! That’s why I was so shocked when I heard that you were a fan of me. I’ve been a fan of yours for a while.”

“Wow. Thanks. That’s... wow.” She blinked as she tried to process your words, slowly beginning to grin. “That’s awesome.” In the sound booth, someone called your name, and you sighed, reaching into your pocket.

“Looks like I’ve got to go. But here, I wanted you to have this. I figured we might as well be friends, right?” You placed the paper into her hand and smiled. “Hopefully I’ll see you again soon, Olivia. Have a wonderful night!”

“Y-you too.” She watched as you walked away, her world spinning. Was she dreaming?

“Olivia Hye! Come on, we’ve got to go!” Chuu’s loud voice shattered her thoughts, proving that she wasn’t dreaming, and as she turned to follow her group, she beamed, slipping the paper into her pocket. Maybe radio shows weren’t so bad after all.

#femifics #loona #olivia hye #hyejoo #loona scenarios #olivia hye scenarios #girl group scenarios #kpop scenario #girl groups #kpop girl groups

110 notes · View notes

daily-dose-of-imagines · 4 years

Text

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Matchup ♥

Heyo!! Hope you are all doing well! and I HOPE YOURE TAKING GOOD CARE OF YOURSELVES ♡︎

Heyooo! I would like to request matchups for Inuyasha, Fairytail, and Fire Force, please!♡´･ᴗ･`♡

I am a heterosexual female!

I’m a Leo, and a combination of ENFP/ENTP (if that helps with characterization), but I’m becoming more ambivert as the days go by. But I still act like a crackhead (making up new words, making random sound effects out of boredom and roasting people playfully, having airhead moments, for examples) and a lot of people irl do get put off at how “obnoxious” I can get, but I do know when to “flip the switch” and become serious/quiet.

I have really low standards for humor idk I laugh at my own jokes it’s honestly astounding, but cursed memes/images are somethin else💀 Dark jokes are always open in my ally👀

Ironically, I canNOT stand horror, I will legit be so paranoid or freaked out and start overthinking and just cry and DIE—

I’m very open, almost TOO open, but ask me literally anything and I’ll usually tell everyone my honest opinions/thoughts, but I know how to deliver words tactfully and articulately. Debating, (public) speaking, writing, and understanding concepts are my strong suits; likewise I suck ass at math (I have no idea how tf I passed my Calc ap exams, I just— 😭)

Speaking of writing, I write poems whenever I feel like it, I have a whole collection HAH. My love of expressing comes from my tendency to play the devil’s advocate in interpreting and arguing for almost all perspectives in topics. So you can probably guess how I don’t get offended really easily and welcome both playful and serious banter (despite the crackhead persona, I’m very observant of people and their values expressed and how they tick, so I know when to back off especially when they get uncomfortable with my aggressive debating/personality). Need advice? I can use what I’ve gathered from different people and help anyone in their particular situations.

I know I can be overwhelming to alot of people at first impressions and I CAN get very passionate when talking about many things that might scare the hell out of people, but if they tell me to tone it down, I’ll gladly do so; again, I’ll honestly notice if they’re not comfy with it/are overwhelmed based on body language and even from the way they text…. super intuition or something?

And speaking of expression, I love fashion and makeup! I love being able to express myself through use of presentation and have fun while doing it! hehe (k-fashion, asian beauty 👀) HELL YEAH I’M DOWN FOR SHOPPING—

I like to dance yeehaw, and I was on a competitive dance team (well that was before when the corona hit the milly rock a little TOO hard and put all the dancers out of commission😔🤝😭) I’ve also been in my own highschool’s dance club for 4 years!!

I’m a console gamer :0 Big fan of winding down with video games, but books are the best if games aren’t an option.

Music is a huge part of my life; I played the flute and the viola for years before and been surrounded by music through dancing as well; while I’ve been in a choir before, my vocals aren’t stellar oof, but at least I’m not tone-deaf.

Can’t cook to save a life ooooof, that’s where my airheadness REALLY kicks in. I literally burn myself making instant :>

I’m not phased by sexual innuendos/conversations/kinks because I see them objectively as unique characteristics of every person, but I’ll crack up at a sex joke or a cringe flirt line with friends. And like I’ve said, I’ll share them myself without objection if ANYONE asks. But the moment someone actually TRIES to make a move on me (like what!!¡¿), I’ll first play it casual but then bolt for the door because it’s hard for me to actually imagine that ANY guy would see me in a romantic light LOL but i’d get used to the advances quick and if it’s someone i liked back, i’d tease them the same or raise up the antics ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

Hello and thank you for submitting with us! I hope that you are also taking good care of yourself as well, and I also sincerely hope that you like who I match you up with!

I’m sorry this is so late!

>Admin 𝕋

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

𝐼 𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓅 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽…

I ship you with the sweet Arthur! I feel as though with your energetic personality and his somewhat energetic yet dimwitted personality could really mesh well! If your humor is everywhere and lowbrow, then you should see Arthur’s! Your and his sense of humor are quite alike, and you both can definitely laugh at the weirdest things, but it’s cute! He will think you are cute because of it! And Arthur, he is open minded too, he is a very accepting person, and he would be very accepting of you and your quirks! And he will also be impressed that you can be so articulate, unlike him lolol.

He will think it is so cool that you write poetry for fun, and how you love expressing yourself through the arts. He may not fully understand the extent of your content, but he will understand that they are very important to you, and will cherish them too! Arthur will love the fact that you are so intuitive and observant of people, because well, he isn’t. That’s why he think you are so cool, because he wouldn’t be able to pick up on those types of cues! He will also be so impressed with your fashion and how you express yourself through clothes! Arthur will definitely like if you wear medieval inspired clothing! A queen for his king!

He will think being in a dance group would be so cool! He himself can’t dance to save his life, but he would love for you to teach him, so that he can get good enough for you to dance with him! Arthur will also love the fact that you love games! He loves playing them, and would like to play with you! He would show off his favorite video games to you!

You’d tell him that music is important to you, and how you play the flute, and he’d definitely relate it to the medieval times in some way, and would want to hear you play something from that time. And when you do, he would find it amazing, impressed with how well you play!

All in all, with his own airheadedness and bravery, Arthur would be such a good fit for you! He is kind, and warm, and someone that you can rely on when you need someone to lean on! He will be impressed with everything you can do that he can’t! Arthur will treasure you as his Queen!

I choose manly and chivalrous Koga as your Inuyasha boyfriend! I know this might seem like a good pair, but when I was reading through your description the first person that came to mind was Koga. He is someone that can be super serious in one second and super lighthearted in the next! He will see your airheadedness as something that is cute and charming, but he will also appreciate the fact that you are super observant and have great intuition! He would love for someone like that to be his wolf tribe leader wife! He would love to use your power to help the tribe communicate better! He will see it as a very beneficial characteristic and will be quite impressed!

Koga wouldn’t understand the notion of poetry, or reading, or writing, but when you explain to him, he will then think that it is pretty cool. Something that he wouldn’t actively pursue, but he will see that it is something that you very much enjoy and will do anything in his power to make sure that you have the tools you need so that you can properly be artistic! He will also see that your artistic expression also goes to your clothes and makeup and would be very impressed with the fact that you work it so well! He would comment saying that he could never look that good in makeup, saying you are the most beautiful he has ever seen in it, you just do it so well!

I believe that once Koga founds out that you dance and play flute, he will get super happy. Seeing as he the leader of a big demon tribe, he will have the need for entertainment in his down time, and guess what! You’re the entertainment, but in a good way! He will want to listen to you play the flute, and see what kind of melodies you play! Later on, he will have someone else who can play, so he can dance and teach you traditional demon wolf tribe dances!

All in all, Koga is more serious and calm, but with your loud energy and kind-hearted soul, he will just be sucked in by it. You will be the one to show him how to really have a good time, and you will be able to show him that sometimes you just need to take a breather and forget about the difficulties in life, especially when you are a demon leader!

I chose the loud and energetic Natsu of Fairy Tail to be your boyfriend! Seeing as you are super energetic and he is super energetic and loud, you guys would be the perfect pair! Natsu will see that you are so boisterous and can’t stay in the same place for a long time, because he is the same. So he will feel a sense of bonding! When it comes to you being serious and quiet, and knowing when to be, he will think it is really cool of you, only because he doesn’t have a filter, and doesn’t know when to shut up, so maybe you can teach him a few tricks!

When he sees how open you are, he will feel happy about that! He has been in dark times, and so have many of his friends, so when he knows that you are accepting of any type of person, he will love that, and would feel comfortable introducing you to his friends! Natsu will also be surprised yet impressed with the fact that you are so observant. He is only really observant when it comes to battle, and not really when it comes to people in everyday settings, so when you show him what you can do, he will have a shocked expression the entire time! He will also love the fact that on the other end of the spectrum you can be very loud and passionate!

When he sees you are very artistic with poetry, writing, and reading, and even with your makeup and fashion, it would show him that you aren’t afraid to express yourself and be yourself, and he would absolutely love that! He will want to see the things you write, and the things you read, and the things that make you you, so he can get a better understanding of you! And when it comes to the dancing and the music, and the fact that you can play the flute, he would be impressed and hella jealous that you can do such amazing things! He would definitely ask you teach him in the future!

All in all, I think that he would be a very loving and very accepting boyfriend for you! He will take you on all of his adventures and tell you all of his secrets, and treat you like treasure, like you deserve to be treated!

#match-ups #matchup #anime matchup #submission #fire force matchup #inuyasha matchup #fairy tail matchup

3 notes · View notes

vandorens-archive · 4 years

Text

ten questions tag | i was tagged by: @mshelleys, @emdrabbles, @pe-ersona, @evergrcen and @septemberliterature. thank you so much, and i’m so sorry i’m getting to this so late!

everything is under the cut!

@mshelleys

i. if you could change the genre of one of your wips, what would you change it to and how would the story/characters change?

So, trahison already features a ghost and a brief stay at a manor. have i considered turning it into a full fledged horror because of that? perhaps.

ii. do you think of your characters as actors playing a part in a movie or as people in history actually doing things that effect the future?

i think of them as actors playing in one long, crazy, unpredictable play.

iii. role swap your protagonist and antagonist but keep their personalities the same; how different would your story be?

honestly, not different at all, because when it comes to it, the subject of trahison’s antagonist (s) is pretty complex.

iv. are any of your characters based on you, family, friends, or someone else you know?

oh, absolutely. my characters range between self inserts, to characters i wish i was more like, to characters that are essentially walking, talking, breathing love letters to the people i care about.

v. how long have you had your main protagonist(s) of your wip(s)?

I’ve been working with marin, nate and ruby for years, long before they were even called that and were a part of a dystopian crime novel (don’t ask). antoine joined them soon after, followed a while later by beth and isadora, and miles was invented during the plotting stage.

vi. do you prefer to write chronologically or just make a bunch of scenes and order them after they’re written?

it depends on what i’m working on and how serious i am about it, but if we’re only talking about trahison, then chronologically!

vii. imagine the problem in your wip is sorted out, how would the protagonist recount the story to their children if they asked?

with a far away look in his eyes and an uncharacteristic fondness in his voice, marin would turn to his children, and tell them how extraordinary his friends were during his university years—their zeal, their inquisitiveness, and conveniently leaving out the uncomfortable loyalty they all had towards each other, until time and life’s commands separated them.

viii. favorite (non-spoilery) line(s) of your current wip(s)?

This small bit of description, albeit a little purple prose-y, is one that i’m very, very proud of.

“ The morning rain had made its grave in the dirt, the bittersweet smell—like exotic black tea—rising into the air. It was the night pluviophiles came to dance. If I think hard, I can still taste the ghost of the raindrops on my tongue and sense Beth’s radiating warmth beside me; its own ghost ” - trahison, chapter three

ix. if your wip was a movie, could you see it be done in the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, or 2010s? why that decade in particular?

so, fun fact, i hadn’t decided when to set trahison (see: the big question mark in my plotting notebook) but i have recently made up my mind and decided to set it in the seventies! if it was a film, then i could see it being made in seventies france! very a la the dreamers.

x. are you able to just make up a story on the spot, or do you need help (plot generators or other outside influences)?

sometimes i’ll take the help of prompts or media, but otherwise i just come up with things on my own!

@emdrabbles

i. what do the names of your main characters mean? did you pick them for the meaning or another reason?

i picked the trahison characters’ names based on two things: how much it related to the character’s backstory or personality, and how pleasing it sounded out loud. here are the meanings of their names:

marin — of the sea

ruby — deep red; precious stone; behold a son

elizabeth — god is my oath

nathaniel — gift from god

antoine — priceless one; beyond praise

isadora — gift of Isis

ii. what book are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading the time machine by h.g wells!

iii. last sentence written?

“ When the end of the world comes — I’ll film it ” — copycat, or the one where i predict the future.

iv. who are some of your faceclaims?

i usually don’t use faceclaims, but if i had to choose:

marin van doren (trahison) — timor simakov

eloi hill (psychophantia) — maxence danet fauvel

cass parker (penny lane) — monica tomas

v. gimme some worldbuilding facts!!

alright, here’s one: in the world of psychophantia, not only is the magic system and your powers controlled by your morals, but so is your social ranking, your education, and any future you may have—to an extent.

vi. do you outline? if so, do you have a specific method?

i’m a plotter and only really work well with a solid outline, however, my outlines range from a series of messy, incoherent bullet points to meticulous scene-by-scene planning based around the three act structure. this post is my go to for plotting assistance!

vii. favourite author?

Like every tumblr user ever, i love donna tartt and maggie stiefvater, but i’m also a huge fan of f.scott fitzgerald, agatha christie and vera caspary!

viii. what is your oldest wip?

trahison! It went through many, many changes — from changes in genre to changes in character names, and there’s still a possibility that it could change even further.

ix. what is your favourite wip?

every wip i reblog under my #others. tag! You all are so damn talented!

x. where do you get your inspiration from?

everywhere around me! from conversations i have with people, from films and books i consume, from the music on the radio — i like that anything and everything can inspire me to create.

@pe-ersona

i. in one sentence, explain your current wip!

a group of secretive students attempt to become immortal, only to uncover the worst parts of themselves — and each other — as they do.

ii. was writing your main interest or did you have other interests?

although writing is my main interest (see: my social media bio on every platform ever), i also like to journal, sew, cook and make videos! my interests usually do have to do with the intention of creation.

iii. what’s your favorite genre to write? to read?

I love writing horror and mysteries. those are my favourite genres, but i also love reading a good contemporary romance!

iv. what is one goal you have for your wip this year? how’s that goal going?

to finish the first draft! so far, not so bad, though i do wish i could write more, but unfortunately, time constraints plus school restrict me from doing so.

v. how old is your wip? or when did you start writing your wip?

trahison is nearly three years old, but i only started writing the current version of it a year ago.

vii. what scene made you cry or laugh or both?

these lines made me laugh out loud the first time i wrote them:

“ Up the stairs stumbled Miles, my slovenly genius roommate. He grinned at the giggles and winked at the exasperated stares.

The gall of him!

I wanted to be him.

He managed to find his balance enough to reach our dorm. I immediately stepped back to let him in, and to make sure I was in no association with his uncomposed state. Nate gave a disapproving look at his back as he staggered in.

I took another step back, raised a pointed eyebrow, and closed the door ” — trahison, chapter three

vii. how many ocs does your wip have? who’s your favourite?

my main wip, trahison, has six main characters. out of the main six, my favourite has to be nathaniel. he is very much the epitome of pure, and sometimes i wonder how he ended up in the middle of such a dark plot.

vii. you have a brand new idea for a wip, what do you do?

brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm. scribble down whatever the hell pops up in my brain, attempt to link it together by a thin string of yarn, cross my fingers and hope for the best.

ix. you are having your first book-signing, where are you?

i’m in a small bookstore, nestled in a corner near the storage room. almost no one knows about this town, so the line is small but chatty, fans exchanging theories and analysing certain paragraphs. the sight of them makes me feel warm inside.

x. you have the ability to live in any book, publishing or not, what would it be?

would it be too cliche to say the harry potter universe? other than that, other worlds i would love to be a part of is the world in my novel penny lane, or in midst of a detective story.

@evergrcen / @septemberliterature

i. how did you come up with your wip’s title? what does it mean in relation to the story?

okay, so i discovered the word ‘trahison’ after hearing my french teacher say it, and immediately knew i had to use it for something. ‘trahison’ means betrayal or treason in french, which is one of the main themes in the novel.

ii. do you title your chapters? if so, what’s your favourite?

I don’t, but I would love to!!

iii. what’s a recent line you really like?

Not a very dramatic or noteworthy line, but here’s one from a poem i’m writing:

“ So the two of you get in the car, proceeding to have an argument with the radio ” — examples of easy solutions, or the one where the internet has no answers.

iv. are there any writing-related quotes you really like?

“i think a lot of art is trying to make someone love you” — keaton henson

v. do you have an idea for a cover design for your story?

A black background with serif text, that’s it. It’s simple. It’s mysterious. It’s the type of vibe I want to exude.

vi. what sort of au can you imagine your story being?

...dark academia au anyone?

just kidding. in all seriousness, though, i can see a royalty/political au for trahison, or a medieval fantasy au!

vii. which oc would be the most angry with you as the writer?

eloi. i really need to give that poor boy a break.

viii. if you had to tell the story from a different pov, which character would you choose?

ruby! she’s the token enigma of trahison, so i think her point of view would be very interesting to see.

ix. what would be your oc’s taste in music if they lived in our world?

OKAY let’s see:

marin — classic rock, so the who, queen, def leppard.etc

ruby — that one person who you’re pretty sure only listens to classical music, but is actually very attuned to modern day music. she would mostly listen to female singer-songwriters, so take lorde, marina, lana del rey, and other such artists.

beth — take one look at her playlist, and you’ll see that ninety five percent of it is mitski, while the other five percent is bedroom pop. she would like very tender, calm, cry to in bed music.

Antoine — same as marin, but add other modern day music artists with eclectic sounds, such as twenty one pilots, arctic monkeys, that sort of thing.

nathaniel — classical music, instrumentals, and film soundtracks make up his playlist. if it has sung words, he won’t listen to it. has little to no understanding of modern day music and is too scared to find out more about it.

isadora — 2000’s diva pop plays in the background of her life. rihanna is her go to whenever she gets to control the party. Don’t be surprised if ‘rich girl’ by gwen stefani starts playing in your head at the sight of her.

x. what’s one personal goal you want to achieve by the end of the story?

finishing it with pride!

#( FINALLY i've caught up with everything i've been tagged in ahhh )#games.#long post

7 notes · View notes

poeedamerons · 4 years

Text

all I know, all I know (loving you is a losing game)

Read it on A03

Ps: I know it’s December and I am posting a Halloween fic but that's just how my muse works and I can't do much about it, but I hope you guys enjoy this.

Michael would never admit it out loud, but he is absolutely afraid of anything even remotely scary. Halloween truly is the stuff of nightmares to him. With that being said, it is no wonder that his heart is pounding so fast he is afraid he might faint. All because he got roped into going to Roswell’s Horrorland.

As if the city’s reputation of alien activity wasn’t enough, it was decided that Roswell should also be the place for all fans of horror and aliens to go to on Halloween (Michael could actually punch whoever had that idea in the first place). Hence the new alien haunted themed park right on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by the eerie New Mexico desert.

It was just his luck that his boyfriend was not only an alien enthusiast (he is dating Michael, after all) but also a huge fan of Halloween. Almost obsessively.

Michael really didn’t get it and was absolutely positively-one-hundred-per-cent-a-fucking-fraid. The cherry on the top is that no one knows this. If people think that being an actual alien is his biggest secret, they have another thing coming their way.

He is secure in his masculinity, but admitting this secret out loud feels very… well, emasculating. Plus, no one would ever let him down gently for this. He would be bulldozed by their teasing, and Alex? Alex would be merciless; he is sure of it.

So, thanks but no thanks. He will keep a death grip on his jacket pocket and pray to any and all gods that might have been listening to keep his other hand from sweating too much into Alex’s.

“Come on, Guerin!” Alex’s gleeful laughter distracted him from his death infused trance as they strolled inside the gates of the themed park alongside their friends. The younger man was pulling him through their joined hands with the excitement of a child on Christmas day and Michael had to keep the butterflies in his stomach in check. Sadly, for him, the butterflies had more to do with the fact that he might, in reality, throw up than adoration over Alex’s joy.

Michael really thought he could survive this night with careful dodging and fake enjoyment, but he could feel in his gut that this was going to be a disaster.

The stuff he did for love, really.

Before he could quite grasp what was going on – the flashing lights, bright neon paint everywhere and fake smoke impairing his senses – they were next in line to board a ride called “Moon Base”. Initially, the name sounded non-threatening to Michael, but the closer they got to the ride’s entry gate, the louder the screams were and sweat started to exude from him in buckets. He had no idea how Alex hadn't noticed how wet he was through his clothes.

His friends were chatting excitedly in front of him, but Michael felt like the room was spinning around in slow motion and noises seemed far away from him. He could already feel a peculiar wave of nausea in the pit of his stomach.

“Michael, come on!” Alex urged, pulling him by his wrist and he hummed in agreement, as that was all form of communication he could muster.

His feet seemed to have a life of their own as they led him to his seat, next to Alex’s. He buckled his belt in a trance, the muscles in his jaw clenching in anticipation. As it turned out the ride consisted of an elevator drop, it raised you all the way to the top, dropping down one floor at a time. On every floor the room would shake and cast members dressed in costumes from a 1980s style gory alien movie would come out to scare the people on the ride.

His hand clutched the railings on his seat, knuckles turning white as the metal creases and creaks beneath his palm. Fuck, fuck, fuck Michael thought. This was literally the worst thing that has ever happened to him and they are still going up.

Only when the ride finally started its doomed way down and Michael started screaming bloody murder did Alex and the others close to him finally noticed that, in fact, he was not okay.

“Michael, are you okay?” He could hear Alex yelling at him, trying to get him to hear over the noise of the ride and other peoples screams, but all he was able to do was to keep his eyes tightly shut and scream at the top of his lungs as blood thumped in his ears.

“Michael???” Alex's voice was frantic, and he felt his boyfriend’s hand reach into his, but the warmth of the other man’s fingers was not enough to calm his hammering heart down.

“Fuck, we need to stop this ride,” was the last thing Michael remembered hearing before it all suddenly stopped. He felt people around him, his belt being unbuckled, and his death grip being moved out of the way. Light filtered through the back of his eyelids.

“Babe?” He could hear Alex's voice calling to him and when he, unwillingly, he might add, opened his eyes he could see worried looks stamped on everyone’s faces. He was still shaking and his heart rate was wildly out of control, rapidly hammering against his ribcage. His legs felt numb and he just wanted to lie down and never wake up.

“Hey there, big guy. Let’s get you outta here, okay?” His boyfriend's gentle voice filled the room, and he was one hundred percent down with this, but he had no idea how he would achieve it; but once again all he knew is that indeed he was led out of that death trap and onto a bench. A water bottle was shoved in front of him, and he gulped its contents greedily.

He had no idea how long they sat down together – Alex the only one remaining with him in what apparently was a group decision to give him space – but eventually, he started feeling better as the gut-wrenching fear passed.

Alex reached for his free hand, pulling it up all the way to his lips, placing a gentle warm kiss on the inside of his wrist. “Are you feeling better now?” Alex still sounded worried.

Michael deeply exhaled through his nose, groaning quietly before giving his boyfriend a one-word answer. “Yes.”

“I don’t want to push, but babe, please tell me. What happened?” His boyfriend, for someone so observant and smart, sometimes could be so blind. If he hadn’t almost had a heart attack minutes ago he would be astonished at the extent of Alex’s absent-mindedness.

“I really, really don’t want to talk about it.” He tried to keep the distress out of his voice, getting up in an attempt to run from this conversation, but Alex’s light squeeze of his hands told him he wasn’t successful.

“Michael, please talk to me,” Alex urged helplessly. “You really scared me in there.”

He finally, finally, looked at him then, his eyes revealing his reluctance and embarrassment. But he sighed and bit his lip. “Scary things? Not a fan.”

“That’s an understatement, Guerin.” Alex's voice faltered while trying to stop his choked-up laughter when he noticed Michael’s glare. “Sorry, sorry. I’m not laughing at you…” The asshole really was, and this was one of the reasons why Michael didn’t want to tell Alex, ever. “Well, yeah, I kind of am, but just because I think it’s cute, and honestly, I'm kinda relieved. I thought you were sick or having a stroke or something.”

He chose to willingly ignore the last comment. “Bleh, bleh, bleh I think it’s cute,” Michael mocked, trying to pull away from his boyfriends’ grip, making Alex laugh even harder at his antics; but before he could fully grasp himself out of it Alex gently pulled Michael to him, tucking his head into his neck.

“Scared of scary things,” Alex told him, his warm breath tickling Michael's nape. “How cliché for an alien cowboy like you.” He teased, kissing the side of Michael's neck in a clear (and wildly successful) attempt to appease him.

Michael grunted in response, still pressing his face into Alex’s silky black hair, breathing in his soothing fragrance. The smell of warm cinnamon apples Alex seemed to carry around always had a calming effect on him.

“Hey,” Alex nuzzled his nose against Michael’s jaw. “I know I teased you,” Alex said, his tone distressed. “But it’s okay that you’re scared, babe. You shoulda just told me,” Michael’s eyes were now staring intensely at Alex’s dark ones. “I hate knowing that I dragged you into something that made you so frightened you had a panic attack.” Alex bit his lip contritely, something Michael should have not found as adorable and sexy.

“No, Alex,” Michael argued helplessly, hugging Alex while he gently rubbed his face into the other man’s hair. “Don’t be upset. I was being stupid,” He grimaced, this whole ordeal is a bigger emotional roller-coaster than he expected. “I just- I really wanted to do this for you, because you love it so much, and –” Please, God help him not to die from embarrassment. “I really didn’t want to look like a pussy in front of you.” There he said it, hoping the ground would open a hole and swallow him.

He could feel the smile Alex was fighting against his jawline. “That is both very sweet and ridiculous.” Michael must admit that ‘sweet’ wasn’t that bad. He could even live with ridiculous if Alex persuaded him enough.

“Yeah?” He asked the dark-haired man in front of him, giving him his best winning smile, hoping to make Alex’s heart flutter.

“Yeah,” Alex answered, sliding his hands down the length of Michael’s arms before intertwining their fingers together and resting his head against the taller man’s shoulder.

“Oh, and don’t worry, Guerin.” A roguish grin crossed Alex’s face. “I’ll protect you.” Alex, the cheeky - unbearably sexy - idiot had the gall to wink.

He should really have swatted Alex’s round, perfectly shaped ass right then, but they were in a family park and Michael would rather not be kicked out for public indecency.

“I should really punish you for that later,” He whispered in Alex’s ear, sending chills to the other man’s toes.

Alex swallowed audibly, a light blush catching on his tanned cheeks. Michael found the whole thing highly endearing.

“How about we play some games?” Alex suggested lightly, sobering up and pulling Michael by the hand. A gentle loving smile was playing on his lips. Michael, being such an idiot in love, couldn't help but lean in for a kiss.

He pressed his lips against Alex’s, aware that his are slightly dry. But Alex’s lips are soft and wet. His boyfriend’s breath hitches for a moment in surprise, but then he pushes forward, his nose brushing against Michael’s as he tilts his head slightly for a better angle.

Alex’s tongue traced against his lips a moment before he pushed it forward slightly, but pulling back quickly as to not deepen it too much. Michael groaned deeply in dismay, making Alex chuckle mid-kiss. His other hand started to trail upwards, his fingers grazed against Alex's warm side as the shirt rucked up with his touch. He delved his tongue into Alex's open mouth, groaning again when their tongues brushed against each other. But before their kiss could progress from sweet to filthy, Alex pulled away and Michael could help but pout.

"We're in public, you silly goose!" Alex protested with a bright grin, eyes alight, "I'm not- we can't do that here. C'mon," he cleared his throat, trying to bring himself back into a state that was appropriate for being in public, "C'mon, let's find a stall for you to throw something at all alpha-male and win me a stuffed animal."

They strolled lazily and quietly towards the game booths, enjoying each other’s company, taking in the cold, crisp air of the night. Michael could feel a lightness come back to his limbs, all the stress from the Horrorland around them almost forgotten.

It did help that where they were, apart from some awfully intricate alien invasion decoration, – with a sickening amount of neon green and purple glowing slime – in this section of the park that was free of rides and cast members dressed in blood-curdling costumes.

Yikes.

Lost in thought, Michael almost bumped into Alex’s back. The other man stopped dead in his tracks and Michael furrowed his brows, his eyes frantically searching around them for anything suspicious. Or as suspicious, it could get in a theme park.

Finally, his eyes zero in what has caught Alex’s attention: a giant, bright green alien plush with a holographic hooded cape. In one of his paw-like feet, he could read the words “Roswell NM” in bold black letters.

Michael knew deep in his heart that this gruesome and honestly offensive depiction of an alien was exactly the kind of ‘cute’ thing Alex was searching for and Michael was going to be the alien idiot that would win it for him.

The things he did for love.

He doesn’t regret a single one of them.

He snorts for good measure and turns to Alex. “Like something you see?” His voice was laced with indulgence. The other man locked eyes with him, a mischievous smile lighting up to his eyes.

“Come on Guerin.” And once more he is being dragged by his over-eager boyfriend to the booth, but this time as they reach their destiny Michael steps in front of Alex, handing over the tickets in exchange for a turn at the task. His demeanor showing Alex he meant business.

“Are you sure you're up for this, cowboy??” Alex's voice is filled with mirth, clearly baiting him.

“Oh, you are so on, Manes.” He can hardly contain the boyish delight that took over his body at the challenge.

------

He should have known that these carnival games were rigged.

There he was trying to win Alex that stupid alien plush (without his powers, he would like to point out) and he has no idea how much money he has spent so far – and he feels like it has been more than the actual monstrosity is worth – and now is a matter of dignity he wins Alex this blasted thing, the amount of money he spends be damned.

“Michael, let it go, c'mon, it's really not that big of a deal.” His boyfriend assured him. “I think I saw a hoodie over there with a huge alien head on the front and I really want one.” Alex pleaded with him.

While he had no doubt that Alex did see that hoodie and wanted one so he could wear it around the house with only boxers on and giggle in his general direction like the bewitching, evil flirt that he is, he is also sure he is only saying that in an attempt to help Michael save face and get him off the booth after thirty tries.

Not a chance in hell he is leaving without the toy now.

“Yes, it really is, Alex.” Michael answered, exasperation strung through his tone as he takes a breath and scowls at the offending stall. “I am going to get you that stupid, unnecessarily huge, plush alien you want and I will march out of this godforsaken park victorious.” He smashed his fist on the booth table, shoving the new dollar bills down.

The guy in the black and white shirt running the stall wasn't technically supposed to take literal money, only tickets, but Michael was pretty sure that he'd worked out by now that stopping him on a technicality wouldn't end well for anyone. He did keep raising his judgy eyebrows though, smothering a self-satisfied smile every time Michael cursed himself out for failing at a rigged game, though. Jackass.

Alex better appreciate how sweet he is being by trying this hard to get that stupid thing that he will be forced to share a bed with at least tonight while Alex joyfully snuggles with his ironic prize and leaves him to fend for himself on his side of the bed.

Michael took a deep breath and placed all his focus once again in the game. He tries to block the sounds around them and Alex’s general aura of exasperation and amusement. He wound up his arm, squinting his eyes to aim before throwing the ring once more and the seconds it takes to reach its destination pass in slow motion movie to Michael. The smacking noise of the rim on the bottle mocked him once again. He throws his hands up in the air in absolute frustration.

“Anytime now, Michael.” Alex teased, probably trying a whole new approach to get him to give up on this. But he would not be answering Alex’s siren call this time.

Fuck it, he thought to himself. He was absolutely going to use his powers to beat this game and no one, not even Alex, would know. This game clearly wasn’t meant to be won and Michael would not be welcoming people’s opinion on the matter, thank you very much.

Alex chuckled.

“It’s not funny.” He mumbled back.

“Oh, it is.” Alex taunted.

“Fine, this is gonna be my last shot. If I don’t win, I walk, ‘kay?” He knew he was going to make it this time, but he wasn't going to waste the opportunity to be dramatic about winning at the very last minute like a conquering underdog.

“Deal,” Alex replied, getting down from the booth’s counter, smoothing down his pants, ready to leave.

Michael made a show of intensely looking at his target, taking a deep breath and adjusting his footing. He picked the ring and gently tossed in the direction of the bottle, this time controlling the ring’s path with his mind, wrapping around the biggest, furthest bottle.

He whooped with excitement, rendering both Alex and the booth keeper shocked with the turn of events. He lost no time and picked Alex up and spun him around once, much to the disinterest of the man behind the booth.

“You did it,” Alex whispered, amazed, but a peal of delicious laughter soon rang past his lips. “My hero,” He gazed lovingly into Michael's eyes, leaning in for a quick kiss on the lips in reward for his efforts.

“Do you want your prize?” The man asked, and Michael turned to him dumbfounded. The gall this guy had to ask that like he wasn't a private spectator to Michael’s efforts to win the prize.

“Yes,” Alex quickly filled in pointing up at the green alien as if the man had forgotten. A light blush spread through the dark-haired man cheeks, his eyes shining with childish delight.

He really would do anything to see Alex looking this precious.

“Happy?” Michael asked as they made their way out of the booth, wrapping his arms around Alex, as the man clutched the ridiculous sized stuffed animal on his other side like a lifeline.

“Uhum,” Alex sing-songed in reply, a big smile taking over his facial expression. “You totally used your powers, didn’t you?” Alex’s smile was so big now, Michael was sure it was going to rip on the edges.

“No!” He gasped in fake hurt. “Do you think it would have taken me that many tries if I did?” He stopped walking in the middle of the busy corridor, his hand still deep in Alex's back pocket. “Do you think so little of your awesome boyfriend that absolutely made an idiot out of himself to get you an ugly-ass alien plushie like a normal human?”

Alex squinted his eyes, looking deeply into his. “I guess…” He didn’t sound convinced, but the night was young and there was no way he would spend more time than necessary in this horrible place, so he really could change Alex’s mind with a little bit of cajoling.

“Exactly!” He exclaimed. “Now, where is all my gratitude?” He closed his eyes and leaned in Alex space, earning him a chuckle from the man.

“Thank you,” Alex answered him back. “I love it,” He felt Alex give a quick peck at his both cheeks and he had to fight a smile. “I will cherish it forever,” Alex's voice was adoring before he peppered all around Michael’s face with little kisses, ultimately making him smile and shiver.

He opened his eyes, making sure all his love could be conveyed through them. “I love you,” He muttered as he rested his forehead into Alex’s.

“And I love you, you silly alien.”

------

Rosa’s delighted giggled ringed loudly over the park crowd, followed by Liz’s and Isobel’s buoyant screams at the sight of the two of them making their way towards the group.

“Please,” Rosa’s excited voice began, “tell me that you made Michael win this for you.” Her eyes sparkled with mirth. The concept of an alien playing some silly game to win his boyfriend an alien plush was the exact kind of humor Rosa lived for.

“Yeap,” Alex answered with a pop on the ‘p’, completely proud of his achievement. Michael could not help but roll his eyes adoringly. Her head bent back with full-body laughter.

“How am I supposed to compete with that?” Max exclaimed loudly; his humor clearly affected by this turn of events. Michael shot his brother a wolfish grin.

“Don’t be a baby, Max,” Rosa nipped. “I am sure my sister can lick your wounds.” Now it was Rosa’s turn to smirk. Like that interaction never happened, her attention was back on him and Alex, determined to milk all the jokes this situation could give.

“This is the best thing ever. I need a picture of this.” She exclaimed loudly, frantically searching in her bag for her phone.

“You better watch out, little brother,” Isobel said. “Alex might have finally found the alien for him.” Her lips curled into a vicious smirk.

“You are just jealous Alex is the only one with a giant plush and not you.” He grinned back and Isobel stuck her tongue out, distinctively making his point for him. Looking to his side, Alex was talking cheerfully to Liz, clutching his alien close to him, making Michael smile at the scene.

Despite what it felt like a train wreck of an evening, Alex had a happy smile playing on his lips, a light contentment about his mood, indicating that after everything that went down they still had a great time together, and if love is a losing game, Michael would lose it every time to make Alex happy.

------

One could already guess that Alex does very much love his new alien plush and not only slept with him on the bed that very night, but the nights that followed for a month until it’s mysterious disappearance and no, it was not me, Alex, for god’s sake stop asking even though we all know that in fact, it was very much one Michael Guerin that did burn the godforsaken, ugly thing one day, out in the back, while Alex was not home, because if there is one alien that gets to sleep curled around Alex, it’s him.

#malex #roswell new mexico #alex manes #michael guerin #my writing

4 notes · View notes

rontra · 5 years

Note

do you have any recommendations on how to like. Take In Umineko. I think it looks really cool and I’d like to get into it, but there’s a lot of things that are confusing (like all of the different games, the manga, the anime, ect.) and I’m not really sure where to start watching/reading it. Do you have any advice on where the best place to start is?

HOH BABY NOW THIS IS A GOOD ASK

Basically, a lot of this depends on you and how you prefer to take in media. People are different after all; some people like reading long novels, some prefer comics, u know! So let’s just go over all the avenues and how to get at them, and the rest is up to you!

I’m gonna make this post very long. VERY VERY LONG. IM SO FUCKn SORyr

First, I’ll talk abt what umineko is; then I’ll discuss the various media; finally, at the end, I’ll write down what I typically recommend to newcomers! SCROLL REALLY FAST TO THE HEADERS IF U HAVE NO TIME FOR MY RAMBLING LOL

So…here we goooo

READING UMINEKO: UNTANGLING THE WEB

OR: what the fuck is umineko and why do you want me to read it, diesel?

Since this is a general To Whom It May Concern post: Umineko no Naku Koro ni (Or Umineko: When They Cry, alternatively When The Seagulls Cry) is a murder mystery/fantasy/metafiction visual novel published between 2007 and 2011. I know “murder mystery” and “metafiction” sound pretty boring when you combine them, but trust me–Umineko’s unlike anything you’ve seen, and defies explanation. Still, I’m here to do my best!

Umineko is about a rich and complicated family, and their annual family conference–and the year it goes super duper badly. On an isolated island, in the middle of a typhoon, tragedy befalls the family–on a massive scale! Someone is killing them–all of them–and the only answer that seems to be rising is–

“Beatrice did it.”

But Beatrice isn’t supposed to really exist. Not for real!! No one by that name is on the island. It’s just a story! She’s made up–Beatrice is a legend. A witch who has lived for a thousand years–who loaned the family patriarch ten tons of gold, an insane amount of wealth, in exchange for his soul. Now she’s collecting on that loan, taking everything back, with interest–the lives of the family included.

Is the culprit a human, or not? Does the witch exist, or not?Is the culprit one of the 18 people? Does a 19th person exist? Or…?And, most importantly–when the typhoon passes, will anyone remain alive on the island?

[YouTube: Umineko opening]

I’d super-recommend Umineko if you enjoy: strong characterization, a solidly built mystery (with plenty of smaller mysteries to try your brain with along the way ;) ), complex and nuanced characters, hype magic fights, Logic-Based Combat(???), deep discussions of trauma and its consequences, large casts of characters, Genre Fuckery, coping, Meta™, and milfs Complex Lore

I would, however, NOT recommend Umineko if you are triggered by/can’t stomach reading about: body horror, gore, death, trauma, child abuse, bullying, discussion of suicide, discussion of sexual assault, etc (you can message me for a more complete list of warnings; I’m happy to provide super-specific ones if there’s something specific you’re concerned about, or even give you specific scenes to watch out for. I kept this vague on purpose, but if you message me off anon or via DMs here or at @aceyasu, I’ll be happy to answer anything!)

Overall it’s a pretty dark, emotional story, with a lot of Themes™–but it’s also full of love and genuine heartfelt Feelings. I don’t think any story has touched me the way Umineko has! Of course, everyone’s experience is very unique to them, but I think Umineko has something for everyone (provided, of course, that we’re taking into account the content warnings and excluding people who can’t/don’t want to encounter those things!). The characters, music, story and message–it all has a lot of heart and it all is very important to me as an individual. Obviously no media is flawless, but I think Umineko’s good outweighs its bad…YMMV though of course :p

Also, hype magic fights.

OKAY WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY

Umineko’s story is told over 8 arcs–styled as “episodes”. I use “arc” and “episode” sort of interchangeably! Specific ones I just call “EP#” though. All you really need to know though is there’s 8 of them, of varying length, and you have to read them all for the full story.

Thankfully they’re numbered, am i right?? HAFDmgkdfmg

Each episode has its own focus within the overarching narrative and comes with its own fun mysteries and harrowing developments just for you! yay! But basically, the important thing is that they’re divided into the Question Arcs (1-4) and Answer Arcs (5-8).

Sometimes, to make things confusing, the Answer Arcs are also called “Core Arcs” or “Chiru”. I will use “Answer Arcs” here, but if you encounter those two elsewhere, that’s what they are. :p

ACTUALLY EXPERIENCING UMINEKO

(now that im done YAPPING)

The anime

Generally viewed as a poor product. It’s a bad adaption that fails as a standalone, too, because of the amount of important scenes that are missing. Don’t watch the anime first if you really want to get into Umineko. It’s a fun watch once you know how it’s supposed to go, though :p Covers the Question Arcs only, ends with EP4–so even if it was good, it would only be half the story… press f to pay respects. The opening fuckin slaps though, and all the VAs are solid.

The manga

Each Episode has its own manga adaption, usually done by a different artist (with exception of EP1, EP3, and EP8, which are all by the same artist). Generally solid; gets the most important parts. For people who want to get through quicker, the manga helps a lot.

The primary cost is that a lot of characterization doesn’t get to shine AS bright, as there’s simply no time to get into the nooks and crannies (still a great cast, though). However, the art is usually fantastic–since the artist changes every EP, it’s easy to deal with even if you don’t like a specific one’s style. It’ll be gone by next Episode!

A lot of moments get punched up by the more visual format of the manga. You really get a better sense of the characters interacting physically with one another! You do, however, run into the Scanlation Problem…..

I know, I know–most people, when given the option to, don’t want to pay for things. So when given the choice between fan scanlations and the official release, a lot of people would choose the scanlations. And they’re fine…for the most part…except for the parts that aren’t. Some parts (notably in the Answer Arcs) are…bad. Really bad. Even I can’t really understand it sometimes, despite knowing this story inside out… LOL

If you’re good at parsing Scanlation SNAFU or can’t afford/don’t want to buy it, you can find Umineko on MOST manga hosts! I don’t know which you prefer so I’m not gonna link ‘em hahahafkgmfh I usually use Manga Rock but that’s because I usually am reading on my phone and I like their app. The episodes are all numbered, so it’s pretty easy to find your way around!

On the other hand, if you have a hard time understanding poor translations, reading inconsistent typesetting/fonts, or simply Can afford it/prefer buying media, the manga is being officially released in English by YenPress! As is standard nowadays, you can get them in both physical volumes and digital e-books! However, YenPress’ release is currently ongoing–the first volume of EP8 is slated to release in March.

[YenPress link]

The visual novel

Ah, here we are–the head honcho himself…! This is the original version of Umineko. These are the ones we call “games”, and why we sometimes say u “play” Umineko, but. Really. It’s just reading. They’re kinetic novels. Its literally just reading. So I don’t know why we complicate things like that.

(“if she an .exe, shes a game”, I guess… xD)

This is where the characterization and voice of Umineko really shines! The style is often simple to read, sometimes even comically casual, but it cuts deep when it wants to. Even really simple lines can have a really strong impact–it’s a really pleasant style to read, IMO…pretty easy to understand most of the time, but emotionally resonant all the same!

Reading the VN is somewhat of an undertaking, because of the amount of hours required…It’s a far longer read. Depending on your reading speed and whether or not you pause to think/talk about things as you read, people clock in 100-200 hours to finish it.

But, on the upside–because it has so much more time than the manga, the VN can really get deep into the characters, their dynamics, and their inner conflicts. You really get a deep sense for everyone’s character and it makes most of the cast feel fleshed-out enough that you appreciate all of them to some extent (whether positive or negative :P)

Oh, actually–the original Umineko branded itself a “Sound Novel”….as opposed to a Visual Novel, where the emphasis is on, uh–Visuals–Umineko leans more heavily on audio to create its atmosphere. And the music? Fuckin rips!! The Umineko soundtrack is huge and has tons of absolute bangers. It’s easy to see why it decided to market itself as a Sound Novel rather than a visual novel–the graphics of the original PC version are simple, but the atmospheric sound effects and BGM really shines.

Here’s some enticing tracks to pique yr interest (be careful about the comments/etc though, there’s Definitely spoilers in there xD)[worldenddominator] [dead angle] [dir] [system0] [hope]

The VN nowadays is split into the two halves; if you get EP4, it’ll include 1-3 as well, essentially. Picking up Question Arcs (or EP4) and Answer Arcs (or EP8) gives u the whole 8 episodes. Easy peasy! Because we live in the future now, and retroactive inclusion of past games is just convenient!

There is an official English release now, which is a brand new luxury. It’s even on Steam! Wow! That’s the easiest way to get your paws on the hands-on experience. The translation has been slightly updated as well! Also, they added a new set of toggle-able graphics that are…um…I mean they’re certainly new…#BarelyContainedOpinionAlert

If you don’t want to pay or can’t afford it…uhhh….I used to have torrent links but they’re all dead. :T still, you can probably just find them, if you know your way around torrents. For the translation, you’ll have to either get a pre-patched version of the game, or use the translation group’s instructions to patch it yourself.

If you can’t do either of those, or just don’t really have a preference, or…any number of reasons, you can also find all the games fully recorded and uploaded to YouTube (with or without commentary)!

As for the links, I’ve got them right h–

Wait–oh, sh–the graphics are bad?!? You think the graphics are bad? Or you think plain reading is boring? Y-you can’t understand what the background image in this scene is even supposed to be? Ah…the post-2007 struggle….

The visual novel, Part Deux: AH, THE JPEGS edition

OKAY SO I SPLIT THIS APART BECAUSE IT*S IMPORTANT

If you wanna spruce up your VN-reading experience, here’s the thing: they ported the game to PS3, with brand new graphics and–get this–full voice acting. Wow! There’s even CGs now…Jeez!

These are NOT the same graphics as the new ones from the official English release! That’s important!

SO, if you wanna spruce up the graphics a bit, or you enjoy voice acting with your novels, you can do that! People took apart the PS3 games and made patches for the PC version to enjoy the new graphics and voices. And now it’s available for the Steam version as well!

[SPRITE COMPARISON: ORIGINAL PC | PS3 | STEAM]You pick your favorite!

ALSO VOICE ACTING! WOW!! Remember how I said the anime got two things right and they were the OP and the voice cast?

SAME CAST, BABEY!!!! They are all excellent and do a wonderful job! It can really add some more interest if you struggle with staying focused on “plain” reading.

Okay so NOW the links:

You’ll have to dig up torrents yourself if you want those, bc its 6am and I’m too sleepy to… uzu

QUESTION ARCS[Physical Eng release] or [Steam page] +[PS3 PATCH]

ANSWER ARCS[Physical Eng release] or [Steam page] +[PS3 PATCH]

YOUTUBE[Non-commentated, with PS3 patch] you can find more just by searching but this one looks good to me :p

RONTRA OPINIONS / SUGGESTIONS

Personally, I favor the VN for most scenes, but the manga for my light casual reading. Y’know? The VN can be pretty…um…dense, at times.

Ironically, I think EP1 itself might be the biggest hurdle for total first-timers. It’s definitely paced as a “part 1 of 8″ for the first solid portion! By which I mean, it really takes its time establishing the cast and their individual situations. Which isn’t a bad thing–especially in the overarching scope of how long the story is–but if you aren’t sure about the premise, format, or if you’ll enjoy Umineko at all, it can be sort of…challenging.

It all really depends on the individual–things like attention span, investment, and personal preferences, imo. Some people just don’t enjoy reading that much text at once! And that’s fine! Some people love it and that’s fine! Some people think the intro is too long, some people think it’s intriguing from the start. Some really like watching character building, and some prefer to see action happening. Either way is fine, so it’s really up to you!

Usually, if someone isn’t sure, I suggest they try EP1 in manga form first, just to see if the general premise entices them; it’s fully possible to jump back and do the VN if you decide you like it! It sacrifices some characterization in exchange for exploring the main premise a little faster.

Similarly, if you just can’t get into the VN–you can read the entire thing with manga too, if you favor action over the deepest character lore. It’s still a good time and a good experience!

Though, in EP1′s favor–if you ARE sure about it, and are able to dedicate your attention to the first 10-13 hours of set-up, EP1 has one of the most rewarding escalations I’ve encountered! If you are able to sit and read a fairly long-winded introduction, you are rewarded with the most buck wild Popping Off you can imagine.

So there’s nothing wrong with jumping right in there with the VN, if you enjoy reading!

However, if you do find that the VN is dragging too much for you, you can go in reverse too–and finish EP1 by manga, then decide if you want to jump back to the VN or not. I promise, the novels pick up the pace too–it’s just getting all the introductions down that can be daunting, when the initial cast size is a staggering 18 people (plus the LORE has to be established too)!!

Just for you–if you want to get into Umineko, but struggle with EP1, I’ll offer my private archive of YenPress manga rips for EP1–read the manga, official english translation, for free thanks to your dealer friend, rontra,You will have to message me about it, though–off anon or via DMs, here or at @aceyasu.

My favorite setups when I play by myself are either Original PC Graphics + Voice Acting, or Full PS3 Patch. I personally really like the original PC graphics, but I understand some people think they’re kinda…um…Rough, to say the least xD PS3 graphics are a close second for me though.

I don’t really like the steam version’s new sprites. Some people don’t mind them, so it’s up to you what you prefer, but I think they don’t really convey the feeling as well as their counterparts sometimes… :/

But hey, everyone’s got their own opinions!

I also prefer the EP8 manga to the EP8 VN. If I have control over someone’s first playthrough, I always push over to the manga for EP8! In my opinion, it’s a rare instance where the adaption is better than its original. People have different opinions on this, of course, but since this section is My Opinions Central, that’s my opinioooon!!! :D

SO BASICALLY MY OWN PERSONAL PREFERRED STRUCTURE IS

->TRY EP1 (jump over to manga if struggling; if enjoyed manga ep1 until the end, hop back into the VN at EP2 and come back to EP1 if you want to later)

EP2-EP7 VN

EP8 MANGA(EP8 VN if desired afterwards, once the dust settles)

But you’re free to do what you want, of course. ;9

And then after that there’s some spinoffs that I didn’t talk about because that’s a post for another time. (There’s a fighting game! It’s packed full of spoilers.)

AFTERWORD

All in all, Umineko is…big. its very very big. it has a huge cast (the final count comes out to like, almost 70 characters!) and a huge story. and huge feelings.

The manga and the VN are the main avenues of getting into it. It’s easier than it looks at a glance; and yet, more daunting than it seems…

If you have the time and energy to pour hours of your time into it, Umineko is a super worthwhile story that tackles genuinely difficult material with a delicate but honest hand.

It clowns up sometimes and stumbles over its own demographic–see: Weird Vaguely Unpleasant Anime-brand Sex Comedy that springs up a lot in EP1, some in EP2, and then largely disappears save for a few dumb jokes here and there–but overall is a solidly built and solidly delivered story about trauma, love, loss, and getting your family ritual-murdered by a thousand-year-old witch who may or may not be real.

And if you have any questions at all (or just wanna talk Umineko), you can send an ask or IM me here or at @aceyasu–you can ask for my Discord too if you wanna really get into it. Or DM me on twitter! I’m happy to answer any question or elaborate on anything you’re confused about. I tried to go over this post quickly, so if I was too vague on something, feel free to ask!

The same of course applies to content warnings; if there’s something specific you’re worried about, I can answer it for you, whether it’s “does [specific thing] happen/appear” or “how much of [thing] is there, i can handle a little bit”! Anything! Of course I want people to read my favorite, but I also more than that want u all to be safe.

I’m very sorry that this post is literally three thousand words long. Umineko’s been my special interest for almost ten whole years. I get chatty! But hopefully my passion shines through and gets you excited!!!

LOVE, A BIG NERD

#Anonymous #long post #the umineko post

45 notes · View notes

love-takes-work · 7 years

Text

"Garnet only talks about Fusion stuff now"

So I've got some stuff to say about my favorite character: Garnet!

It's kind of in response to some criticism I've heard: specifically, that Garnet became nothing but a Fusion poster child who thinks about and talks about nothing but fusion since the time her Fusion status was revealed at the end of Season One.

But I’m not really arguing with the perspective so much as trying to bring some nuance to seeing why Garnet is written the way she is--by examining how her focus has changed over time and what I think we're going to see the show do with her in the future.

Okay, so to some extent? Yes, Garnet’s inclination to talk about fusion all the time went into overdrive after the reveal. Garnet says very little about herself for an entire season, doesn't find excuses to bring up fusion, doesn't seem particularly eager to extol the virtues of fusion or fuse with others (though they seem excited to fuse with her, for sure!), and only has a couple little hints about being a giant fusion-fan dork when we see her reaction to Stevonnie.

But keep in mind that in Season One, Garnet’s few attempts to open up were not rewarded. For instance, Garnet felt punished for revealing something about herself--her Future Vision--to Steven late in Season One, and it was clear that she risked it because the possibility of being closer to him was worth so much. She learned that her words have incredible power, and that this power is magnified when she’s letting others into the reality of her existence. Garnet is . . . let's be serious here, Garnet is majestic and bafflingly cool but she can be kind of awkward. She seems like a stoic badass most of the time when she doesn't open her mouth, but she can REALLY be a mess when she starts talking and doesn’t think it through first.

She's completely in her element when she's talking about fusion, though--and it's not just because she is a Fusion and loves being one. It's also because she was the FIRST of her type of Fusion, and she had to fight so hard on so many levels to be allowed to exist. Her existence has, for so long, been ABOUT being allowed to exist.

I'm going to take a weird turn here and talk about Amethyst. But it'll connect in a minute, I promise.

Amethyst was the clear outsider of the Crystal Gems. She arrived after the war and has no idea about a lot of the events from Gem history. She spent most of her life with no idea that she was "supposed to be" big like Jasper, or what it was like to live on Homeworld, or what other Amethysts might be like, or what her status would have been if she'd come out on time.

And I imagine Rose ADORED THAT.

I suppose Rose was DELIGHTED at the idea of a Gem being alive for the first time in known history without that programming. What it must be like to NOT be indoctrinated into Gem culture, the worst parts of it anyway, not have to fight to oppress others and steal resources for your world and worship your Diamond, just to LIVE as part of a family, somewhat like the humans Rose so admired. Amethyst was a clean slate!

I don't know how much she came out of the ground knowing, but it's clear she was NOT programmed with any idea about what Gems are "supposed to be" like. It was news to her when Peridot said she was supposed to be twice her size, was supposed to outrank everyone on her team, was this mysterious thing called a Quartz.

It's a lot like being adopted: she never knew any other family, and she loved her family and her home, but what is it like, to use an inappropriate human analogy, to find one's BLOOD? When you're the only one in your family who never knew it?

It was satisfying to her to find her Famethyst at the Zoo. Seeing other Amethysts (and Beta Quartzes), knowing that most of them might have been huge but ended up total goofballs like her, with her ancestry, with the answer to her original name (which to her wasn't an automatizing reduction of identity to an alphanumeric designation, but instead represented CONNECTION, HISTORY, ANSWERS). What it must be like to her to find that family and know something she'd never known--something Rose didn't want her to ever have to know, but still had meaning to her.

Back to Garnet.

Garnet is a Fusion, and she can never QUITE be an individual the way single Gems can. She doesn't consider that a failing, and even though she almost always feels like one being, her Fusion identity IS her. "This is who we are" and "This is who I am" are both statements about her that are true, even though they suggest duality and individuality at once. Garnet has no one to talk to about that, and she's used to keeping it inside. But no Gems who meet her are ignorant that she's a Fusion. They immediately see it, looking at her, knowing that's what she is and carrying whatever judgment they might have about it.

Enter Steven.

He has no idea what a Fusion is for most of his life, and has no idea that he might need to see Garnet as fundamentally different from his other "parents." That may have been sort of freeing for her, I think. Not telling Steven was really her only chance to know what it's like to look into someone's eyes and know they just think of you like one being.

Let's remind ourselves who told Steven about fusion. It wasn't Garnet! Amethyst brought up Opal. Pearl explained what fusion is. Opal was the first Fusion Steven met while knowing he was meeting a Fusion, and he felt a little weird about it at first because he didn't know who she was and was worried she wouldn't know who he was. Steven still has no appreciable relationship with Opal. Just with Pearl and Amethyst.

Garnet is a perma-Fusion and she isn't going to spend much of her life unfused. It's what she wants and it's what Sapphire and Ruby want. Steven obviously wants to understand them, and he has more of a relationship with them than with Opal, but I doubt Garnet wants him to get too used to it. She's the permanent fixture there. She's going to stay Garnet. And she wanted Steven to love that she is Garnet without feeling a weird sense of loss over the idea that her presence prevents him from seeing Ruby or Sapphire.

But during Season One, Garnet found that presenting herself like a single Gem means keeping a secret and not opening up much at all.

She became more demonstrative after the reveal because she COULD be--and someone she loves so much has crossed the threshold where he could have judged her or been upset, and he WASN'T. You could see she felt guilty, but also so relieved.

She is free to talk about it now, to show him who she is, to help him understand his own fusion capabilities and fusion identity when he's part of Stevonnie or Smoky, and for once, she gets to be the mentor to someone about something so sacred to her.

There is more to Garnet than being a Fusion--much more. She has a personality. She has strengths, and interests, and fears, and quirks both adorable and troubling. The show does continue to explore those, and I think sometimes people forget about it when this show focuses on her relationships.

In "Reformed," Garnet explored her influence as a leader and what "being too hard on" Amethyst inspired in her; it was an Amethyst episode, but Garnet learned too, and it wasn't "about" her being a Fusion.

When she was frozen in horror under the Kindergarten when she met the fusion experiments, of course this related to fusion and was particularly upsetting to her because it's a perversion of her identity, but she also explored her feelings of guilt and grief, and discussed the importance of consent with Steven.

And the consent issue came up again with Sardonyx, which again, though it focused on fusion, it was not exclusively about Garnet being a Fusion. It was about trust with Pearl, betrayal, and again, the important heaviness of being the leader, being the one everyone looks to for what to do--even when she's falling apart, she has to be the example. "Always the bigger Gem," indeed. Interesting how in that case, her Fusion status made her more vulnerable to taking that betrayal so much more personally.

Since then, yes, we've seen a LOT of fusion-centric stuff about her. Peridot's Very Special Episode with Garnet was about understanding fusion, but also about understanding GARNET. As is necessary with understanding Garnet, seeing her as a Fusion is an important part of understanding her as a whole. It's not the only thing to understand, but it is FUNDAMENTAL.

The episode "The Answer" was the story of her relationship and how she became herself, but it was also about her being literally unmasked for an entire episode, coming forward to tell Steven an important foundation of her character, having the chance finally to reveal personal information to him NOT under duress, in a way she chose and planned and had complete control of. And then having Steven appreciate and accept THAT. Not in a terrible situation when they'd been kidnapped and Ruby and Sapphire were wrenched apart and revealed to him in such a traumatic way. This time, it’s HER way. Garnet got to do that, and got to include him, on her terms.

"Monster Reunion" had important Garnet stuff in it--it wasn't a Garnet-centric episode, but it involved Garnet first denying Steven's request to help Centipeetle, and then giving in, and then acknowledging that letting him follow his heart had been a good decision.

In the "Bismuth" episode, Bismuth kept bringing up Garnet's being a Fusion as a sort of breaking-your-balls kind of ribbing, but at the point when they'd known each other, that was a new thing, something she was probably actively trying to develop pride in, just like Pearl and her pride in belonging to no one.

"Mindful Education" wasn't just about fusion training or learning to cultivate balance; it was also about mindfulness meditation in general, and though it focused on how being out of sync is particularly confusing and lethal for Fusions, it had very good lessons about handling trauma and reminding yourself where you are, which can be generalized for Steven and Connie even when they're not Stevonnie.

"Three Gems and a Baby" did sort of oversimplify each of the Gems' misunderstandings of what Steven might be--Amethyst trying to see the glow as evidence of shapeshifting, Pearl trying to see the glow as evidence that Rose is operating by known Gem logic and is trapped but not gone, Garnet trying to see the glow as evidence that Steven is a complex Fusion with human organic material and is trying to unfuse.

I'm not sure exactly what Garnet was thinking was going to happen if she was right and he unfused into two beings, but she evidently STILL thinks of Steven as a type of love Fusion if you assume Guide to the Crystal Gems is accurate. It's pretty typical to draw common ground between yourself and someone you want to understand or be closer to. And if you think about it, this episode also showed that Garnet, despite her attempts to be a calm voice of reason, REALLY MISSES ROSE and was showing how desperate she was to see her again. Yes, she focused on fusion, but it was something larger in context--just like she is.

And then "Steven's Dream" happened, which involved some pretty heavy stuff between Garnet and Steven. She withheld the truth, she didn't know how to make him stay out of danger, she felt powerless and helpless to stop him because she still has so much fear of the Diamonds and what they can so easily take away from her and her planet and her friends. She gets a lot of criticism over this episode because she fumbled SO epically when almost all of us can think of something we could have said to stop Steven from going to Korea if we'd been partial to Garnet's visions. But that was an episode about their relationship, her shortcomings, her WEAKNESSES, and both of the times she expressed her helplessness, she took her visor off like she always does in super sincere moments.

This whole dynamic was very important, and though it did lead to a plot line that made her unfusing necessary, I think a lot of people overlook "Steven's Dream" as a significant Garnet episode. It is. Garnet screwed up and it had nothing to do with her being a Fusion and it had everything to do with how she can fall to pieces in other ways if she's made to face her fears--to even consider being face to face with Blue Diamond.

"Room for Ruby" had a couple Garnet moments too; it opened and closed with Steven interacting with Garnet, and though not much went on, it seemed like she is still trying to figure out how much to put in Steven's hands . . .

And I wouldn't be surprised if she's wondering when and if and to what extent Steven can share the burden or take over as leader, like his mother. Because I don't think Garnet particularly likes leading the team. She does it because she can handle it, but she's not always the best strategist. She can be emotional in ways that make her short-sighted, and that's when--like Ruby--she punches first and asks questions later, and--like Sapphire--she puts on a mask and pretends everything is very fine and no one needs to worry. Garnet struggling with this, and with being wrong, and with her role on the team, is sort of subtle compared to Fusion-related material, but it's very much there.

I am in agreement with some of the folks who would like to see some straight-up individual character development for Garnet when she's not talking about fusion or focusing on being a Fusion or educating someone about fusion. I'd like to know more about her hobbies--what would she do with a day if she had one all to herself without worrying about capturing Gems or leading missions? I'd like to know more about her funny little competitive nature. I'd like to see more of those quirky behaviors come up, where she does something unexplainable because she's just kind of a weirdo (you know, like putting Steven on her head and walking away, or drawing a picture of herself when everyone else is drawing suspect sketches, or jumping out of the van instead of telling Greg to turn the music off).

But I think it's unrealistic to expect Garnet to be much more expressive than she is now, because she just isn't that demonstrative and THAT is part of who she is.

She's a pressure cooker. She keeps things inside and she resolves them internally--which is probably partially a consequence of being a conversation. Sometimes, like a pressure cooker, she can explode, and you're going to see her truth in those moments and in a few quiet moments when she chooses to tell a story.

You're not going to see the kinds of feelings and spoken desires you get from Steven, Amethyst, or Pearl (who all also have very different ways of expressing themselves, but at least tend to DO SO in more overt ways than Garnet does). If they kept journals: Steven would have a sketch diary and would make an effort to end even his sad entries on a happy note. Amethyst would make fun of everything and occasionally write an angry rant. Pearl would write sad poetry and shopping lists and occasional heartfelt observations. I think Garnet wouldn't keep one. She doesn't seem to feel comfortable with words taking her feelings up for her, and she guards what she feels closely. The fact that she doesn't tell us things actually tells us things.

I don't think it's lazy writing or turning her into a one-note character to have Garnet frequently putting her life in context through the lens of Fusion.

Fusion is the reason she exists and it is, to be quite literal, who and what she is. It was a radical act that she pioneered, and it must have been amazing to become someone who could define her own life instead of going along with her ingrained Ruby or Sapphire programming. Garnet was more an individual than either of them could have been at that time in their lives, even if that sounds like a contradiction. She's still creating that person, and still conceiving it as a radical, beautiful act just to be herself. That’s why she’s so great.

I don't want the show to stop exploring what that means to her, and what that means to everyone around her. I'm not tired of it. I think her character can find new things to talk about, sometimes incorporating information and experience surrounding fusion, and sometimes having it be irrelevant or tangential. But just like those of us who, for example, live with a marginalized sexual identity, something that fundamental to who you are and that different from most people you know always seems to come back into relevance, sometimes when you're not even steering the conversation.

I think some of you will know what I'm talking about when I say it does just always seem to come up, because it's an interesting thing about you that people who aren't like you can't fully understand, and sometimes you want to tell everyone all the things and sometimes you just really want them to leave you alone. But it's definitely part of your truth, and it's something you want people to understand about you and accept about you, and you might feel a little like you're lying if you haven't told someone or you just let them think that important thing is not there.

Garnet's identity is a lot like that in some ways--there's no "Jailbreak" episode where you come out once and then you don't ever have to do it again. Garnet keeps having to demonstrate and identify what is different about her, and it continues to be very, very relevant in her life, affecting her relationships and the way she sees the world, how she looks, what her comfort with herself is, what abilities she has, what people think of her. It's everything. And that fact doesn't make her lesser, nor does it oversimplify her.

I don't know what direction the writers will take us with Garnet, but I trust that it will be something I want to know. I find her really interesting and for many reasons very personally relatable. If there's still more to hear about fusion from her, I want to hear it all. If there's less related stuff, I want that too.

Pearl's been struggling toward defining herself separately from others, separately from her grief over Rose. She's making progress. Amethyst's been struggling toward building self-esteem and understanding her place in the world. She's making progress. Some people say Garnet stopped being interesting once she threw out her big revelation in "Jailbreak" and then didn't evolve from there.

I want to know what show they're watching.

There's been so much with her, and I'm not going to say she doesn't struggle, but unlike the others, Garnet's struggles aren't about making peace with HERSELF. She probably did have that struggle when she was new, but she knows who she is now, and that she’d rather be herself than anything she was designed to be. When you have a stable self-identity and step onto that pedestal as a mentor, you can end up giving more than getting in these kinds of stories, but HER struggles seem to be with how much she can give to others without compromising herself.

She's not self-destructive like Amethyst was, or self-sacrificing like Pearl was. But she gets punished a lot for coming out of her shell, and I think her story is largely going to be about letting others in and dealing with what it means to reach out. Garnet does seem to want connection, and I mean that as an individual. She treasures her relationships with the others, and sometimes despite her being kind of a dork with words she honestly knows the right thing to say.

To sum up, if you think Garnet's become a one-note character, I encourage you to listen for the subtler harmonies. She's got a really interesting duality, both subtle and blunt, and I'm here for all of it--including when it seems to contradict itself. Who isn't a contradiction sometimes? What she's taught us about her identity is really complex and weirdly relatable for something so alien to humans. I think it deserves at least as much attention as it's getting.

I still agree with the people who don't want fusion to be the center of every story about her, but I think they're wrong if they believe that's how it is right now. Or rather, that it's ALL she is, or that what they're showing us is simple and uncomplicated enough to be unworthy of further exploration. It's just that SHE is the center of every story about her, and she is a Fusion, so that affects everything she sees and does.

We should expect it to.

#steven universe #my su analysis #su meta #su analysis #garnet #long post #myblog

529 notes · View notes

dissapearfromview · 6 years

Photo

I think will be a fitting way to close out my replies to your posts, because this is one of the most meaningful and upsetting things I’ve ever had to read. I didn’t tell you but when you linked me the blog I read this almost straight away. I was emotional anyway because it felt like you were saying goodbye to me for the last time, but this was something else. I started reading down it, and quickly realised I wasn’t gonna be able to finish it at my desk. I went to the bathroom and stayed in there for about half an hour. The more I read the more I cried…it was really tough to get through.

With every single little bit of it you hit the nail right on the head and i want to thank you for taking the time to notice these things and write about them so passionately. I think reading this was a turning point for me. Seeing your snapshot of me as a person and how much attention you’ve paid over the years, it was incredible.

I guess we all want to be with someone that is genuinely interested in us as an individual - our motivations, our drives, our ambitions and what makes us happy and sad. This is what i saw when i read this. It really wasn’t a shock to me that you were capable of writing it, because i know that you are an incredibly attentive person and knowing these things means a lot to you. It just got to me when i sort of took a journey through my own life in your eyes.

All of the little intricate details, such as what sort of dress sense i appreciate, you pick up on (and have exploited numerous times). I love that about you. I don’t think i could ever sum up by writing here what this bit of text actually meant to me, so i’m not even going to try to do it absolute justice. But no matter what happens, it will always be one of my favourite things anyone has ever done or said about me.

All the things i’m passionate about that i know we have a mutual interest in, such as music and social issues (to a certain extent), there’s been so many times over the months we’ve been without each other where I’ve thought ‘I wonder what Alex would say about this’ etc. This is partly why i feel like i’ve got so much to tell you and talk to you about. I think i mentioned it the other week but i’ve become obsessed with politics and government and stuff like that, and if you’re interested at some point in the future i’d like to teach you all about what i’ve learned. Thats another thing i value in a relationship, someone who can teach me something just as much as i can teach them. I think you’d be good at that because you have a very complex and considered mind.

I’m glad you appreciate my fashion sense too, and this is a good sign because I think it has improved significantly since I moved to London! Specifically because I've actually got money to fund it now!

I do struggle to sleep and I don't think you’d be good for me in that sense because I know for a fact we wouldn't be able to resist staying up super late when we’re together! But alternatively...thinking about it right now, I think we stay up so late because neither of us has ever wanted to say bye or terminate a conversation, and if we were together we wouldn't have to because we could pick it up right away in the morning when we woke up.

Sometimes my skin and my body does cause me stress and if you did want to be with me then that's something you would have to deal with, as everyone has had to. Sometimes it can put me in bad moods and make me upset and you’ve never really seen that. But that said, since you wrote this post it has got so so much better and I'm glad that you will never have to see it like it was at its absolute worst.

Just so you know, if all this does turn out great and we start spending a lot more time together then please know that under no circumstance will I be becoming a huge horror film fan. It aint gonna happen. NOPE.

My closest friends are from uni, and I have managed to stay in touch with them all. I’ll hopefully be able to tell you about all the stuff that we’ve done together soon. No one from home matters to me that much anymore. Other than family, your bro and Liam, and Ellen and her little crew. And obviously, last but by no means least - you. I’ve told you before that even if we are nothing else you are my best friend from home and if I could see anyone I would choose you every fucking time. Cullingworth is our place and it reminds me of you.

I’m a very emotional person, but I can also keep control of things very well in tough situations. I’ve had to learn that with everything that has happened in my life. You’ve seen me at some of my most emotional times and I will always be grateful for your presence at that point. That shows you how comfortable I am around you to vent to you like that. I know you have that same level of emotion in you, but you supress it - i have never seen it and this is something we’ve spoken about in the last couple of days. I know your guard has never 100% dropped with me and you’ve always held back because of my situation but I hope that now those barriers are removed that you could eventually feel comfortable saying what you think and telling me exactly how you feel. I want to see you in your rawest form too. and I want to do whatever I can to make you feel better about whatever is troubling you. In me, you have another person on your side that wants you to be the person i know you’re capable of being. Remember what I said when we had our little goodbye 3 weeks ago, I really do care about you, and that will never change. I’ve always maintained that.

We are definitely both suckers for a selfie and even though i have absolutely hundreds of yours saved - they never get boring to rifle through. I like hearing that you like looking at photos of me because I genuinely do not see myself in that way at all.

I can’t bring myself to delve into all the family stuff in great detail because i don’t want to cry right now but every word you said was on the money and hit me hard.

I guess i’ll finish this post by saying that I definitely am fearful of losing loved ones. and that is why I am writing all this. I don't want to lose you. I want to give us a chance. I don't care about anything else, and I want to show you that i’m serious.

0 notes

jenmedsbookreviews · 6 years

Text

I make no bones about it – I am a fan of the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly. I came to the series exceptionally late, I believe after seeing a tweet about what was, by then, the 13th book in the series A Song of Shadows. Yes – I know – I was that far behind. Clearly being the conscientious and balanced individual that I am (?) I didn’t buy book 13, but I was suitably intrigued by the sound of the series that I went straight to Amazon and purchased book 1 – Every Dead Thing.

Now in another of those ‘what were you doing when you first read this book’ moments, the opening to said book left such a mark on me that I can tell you – 100% no question – that at the time of reading I was sat on an exercise bike in my front room, trying hard to focus on keeping my legs moving while simultaneously becoming more engrossed in what I was reading, to a point where I could probably have fallen off the bike and not noticed.I will admit it – I didn’t immediately like Charlie Parker. There is much in his character in those early moments that takes time to warm up to, but by the end of the book I was hooked. I read Every Dead Thing in April 2015. By the following April I had read every single book in the Charlie Parker series – all 13 and they are not short books – and was waiting patiently for book 14. I was all blithering idiot (nothing unusual) when my local library won the chance to host an evening with John Connolly as part of his promotional book tour, and duly went along for what was a highly entertaining event, where, after a huge amount of personal motivation to find the balls to actually talk to another human being, the extent of my conversation with him was to say that I loved the book. (I’d managed to read it in a day – it was so good!). In fact A Time Of Torment was the first book I ever ordered as a signed 1st edition (love Gutter Bookshops in Dublin!) quickly followed by pretty much every Charlie Parker book I could lay my hands on. My collection now looks a bit like this …

What does this waffle have to do with The Woman In The Woods? Well – the fact is that I just love this series and each new book (which always feels too long a wait for) is highly prized. So I was delighted when this finally landed in my mailbox and I could sit and read one of my most anticipated and awaited books of 2018. Did it live up to expectation? (you’ll be hoping so after all this build up …) We’ll see in a moment after I’ve shown you what it’s all about.

About the Book

The new thrilling instalment of John Connolly’s popular Charlie Parker series.

It is spring, and the semi-preserved body of a young Jewish woman is discovered buried in the Maine woods. It is clear that she gave birth shortly before her death.

But there is no sign of a baby.

Private detective Charlie Parker is engaged by the lawyer Moxie Castin to shadow the police investigation and find the infant, but Parker is not the only searcher. Someone else is following the trail left by the woman, someone with an interest in more than a missing child, someone prepared to leave bodies in his wake.

And in a house by the woods, a toy telephone begins to ring.

For a young boy is about to receive a call from a dead woman . . .

Ah. Ah-hahahahaha. Oh yes. I loved this book. I’m going to have to say that this is most definitely one of the best yet and completely ticked all the boxes for me. Well – all but one but more on that later. Maybe.

The Woman In The Woods really is the perfect combination of everything I have come to love about this series. The wonderfully complex investigation which provides the basis for each story, one which our dear hero, Charlie Parker, feels often honour bound to partake in, and the presence of the supernatural or otherworldly – not in a Ghostbusters kind of way – more spiritual in a fighting for your soul and to prevent the damnation of the world and the ending of our entire existence kind of way. In that respect this series is unapologetically biased towards that which cannot be easily explained, and will entertain and disturb, bringing forth both the macabre and mysterious in the most delectable melding of genres – the kind of thing that would happen if Horror and Crime started dating, breeding and having book babies. It is not gratuitous, although possibly still capable of turning your stomach if you are of a delicate disposition. It is, however, quite marvellous.

On a very basic level – as there is always a very basic level in every book – this is the story of a young woman whose body has been discovered buried in the woods in a remote part of northern Maine – hence the title. There is every likelihood there is some connection between the woman and the Jewish faith and so in a fit of conscience, and it doesn’t happen often, Parker’s friend and sometime employer, Moxie Castin, asks Parker to try and identify the woman and what happened to the child she appears to have been carrying just prior to her burial. On a wider level … oh it is so much more than that but I am not going to tell you how much more as the fun in this book is in the reading and gradual reveal of a most complicated and disturbing story. It links in beautifully with the ongoing narrative behind the series and sets Parker against a new and wholly disturbing foe – Quayle.

What I love about these books is the way in which John Connolly weaves such diverse and colourful set of individual threads into what in the end becomes a very rich and beautiful tapestry. There is no doubt about it, these are long books, rich in narrative and deep in terms of language and, on occasion, explanation of history. And yet it never feels as though this is a long journey. If anything it never feels quite long enough. There are so many elements of the story to articulate, so many characters whose lives, at one time or another, seem to intersect with that of Parker and his friends, who inform and redirect the ongoing back story which filters through each preceding and subsequent tale, enriching your understanding of what has gone before and what is yet to come, that you cannot help but find yourself lost within the pages, often for hours at a time. This is a story, much like most of the others, that can be read on its own, but I would question why you would want to as to read them all is to fully understand the beauty of what you are reading.

Parker himself is a very complex character. As I said earlier, I didn’t immediately like him and yet he is someone I have grown increasingly attached too, in literary terms of course, and I am fully invested in his story and his quest to discover his true purpose, as this most surely is a quest. He is flawed, but those flaws make the man, and he will always fight for what is right, no matter the personal risk or cost. His partners in crime, Louis and Angel, are just the perfect antidote to Parker’s occasional melancholy and between them the three possess such a keen sense of humour, sarcastic but astute, that you cannot help but love them. It is largely Louis and Parker in this book, Angel notably absent, which is my only regret (and unticked box) for the book as I do love Angel and I missed his hideous shirts and banter with Louis. His presence is mostly certainly felt in the few scenes in which he appears, his and the Fulci brothers who I am developing a soft spot for too, but with his larger than life persona his absence is also felt and he was greatly missed. Hopefully only a short term departure as I refuse to consider the alternative.

Parker is always given a very dark antagonist to battle and it is no different in this book. I don’t want to say too much about Quayle, but he is English (not British) and despite his vile nature, there are moments of mirth in his interactions with others. They are few but they are there. There is something inherently creepy about this man from the off, and the author excels at making this live upon the page without the character ever having to do anything in particular to make you wince or make your skin crawl. He is not the only person in this book to try to make Parker’s life a living hell, and it is certainly a case of equal opportunities for the sexes in this book, with John Connolly demonstrating that when it comes to exacting pain, the female of the species – whatever species this may be exactly – is most definitely more deadly than the male.

And then – oh that ending. Such promise. Such threat. Such a fantastic way to make me desperate for the next book and no mistake.

Gah. I’m making such a horlicks of this review aren’t I? Well this is for a good reason. I want to tell you how beautiful and lyrical, almost mythical, elements of this book are. There is just something so – I don’t know – poetic maybe about the way Connolly forms his prose that it is so hard to review a book, refrain from spoilers and say all you want to say to do it justice. I know. I have tried so many times before.

So I will just say this – if you love this series – buy this book. You will not be disappointed. If you haven’t read this series – you could still buy this book – it’s very good and can easily be read in isolation – but you will benefit so much more if you read the whole series in order. In each one you will find a puzzle piece and slowly they will fit together and a gradual picture will emerge. I still don’t know yet what that final image will be, I’m not so sure that it matters, because right now the work in progress is pretty flipping fabulous and I’m loving every moment of it.

If you would like to own your own copy of this wonderful book then you will find it at the following retailers.

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ Kobo ~ Waterstones ~ Goldsboro Books

About the author

John Connolly is author of the Charlie Parker mysteries, The Book of Lost Things, the Samuel Johnson novels for young adults and, with his partner, Jennifer Ridyard, the co-author of the Chronicles of the Invaders. His debut – EVERY DEAD THING – swiftly launched him right into the front rank of thriller writers, and all his subsequent novels have been Sunday Times bestsellers. He was the first non-American writer to win the US Shamus award, and the first Irish writer to be awarded the Edgar by the Mystery Writers of America.

Follow John Connolly on Social media: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

Now if, like me, you are lucky enough to be in the area on Monday 9th April, John Connolly will be appearing at First Monday Crime at London’s City University. First Monday Crime is a monthly gathering for authors, publicists, agents, editors, students, and avid readers of crime fiction. Each month a new panel of authors is lined up to discuss writing, the world of crime, and their latest novels. This month the panel’s line up consists of John Connolly, Stuart Turton (The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle), Rachel Abbott (Come a Little Closer) and Leigh Russell (Class Murder), all overseen by the expert moderation of Barry Forshaw. You can find out more about First Monday Crime and book your place at the panel here.

Review: The Woman In The Woods by John Connolly @jconnollybooks @HodderBooks @1stMondayCrime I make no bones about it - I am a fan of the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly.

#Charlie Parker #Crime #Hodder & Stoughton #John Connolly #Private Investigator

0 notes